King, Queen arrive in Singapore for maiden state visit

SINGAPORE: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofia, Queen of Malaysia, arrived in Singapore on Monday (May 6) for a two-day state visit to the republic.

The state visit, the first since His Majesty’s ascension to the federal throne on Jan 31, is extended at the invitation of Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah departed from Istana Besar, Johor, at 9.45am in a convoy, accompanied by two ministers-in-attendance – Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook and Singapore Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

Their Majesties were also accompanied by High Commissioner of Malaysia to Singapore Datuk Dr Azfar Mohamad Mustafar.

Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah, who entered Singapore via the Johor Causeway, were greeted upon arrival at The Istana, Singapore, at 10.45am by Tharman and his wife, Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam.

His Majesty then inspected the guard of honour, accompanied by the Singaporean President at the Ceremonial Plaza, The Istana.

Once the State Welcome ceremony concludes, Sultan Ibrahim will hold a meeting with Tharman, followed by an audience with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who will step down on May 15.

In the evening, Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah will attend a State Banquet hosted by Tharman at The Palace.

On Tuesday (May 7), the King will begin the second day of the state visit with an audience with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, followed by a visit to the Parliament building.

In the meantime, the Queen will be visiting a women’s and children’s hospital here.

Their Majesties are also scheduled to inspect the progress of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) project before departing for Malaysia.

The RTS Link is a 4km shuttle service between Singapore at Woodlands North station and Malaysia at Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru.

Sultan Ibrahim officiated the groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Nov 22, 2022. – Bernama