PEKAN: People from all walks of life and corners of Pahang paid their last respects to the former Sultan of Pahang, Paduka Ayahanda Sultan Ahmad Shah Al-Musta'in Billah at the Balairung Seri of Istana Abu Bakar here today.
The public session that was held from midnight yesterday saw droves of people clad in black mourning attires filling up the Balairung Seri throughout the early hours of the morning.
Chartered buses were parked along the streets outside the palace, as people from several districts in Pahang and outside the state made their trip here to pay their last respects to the late ruler.
Pensioner Ramli Daud from Felda Jengka 16, Maran said he did not want to miss out on the funeral rites for the former ruler who had ruled Pahang for about 45 years.
The 77-year-old, who came with several friends, remembers Sultan Ahmad Shah as a ruler who was willing to set aside protocols and mingle freely with the settlers when he visited Felda settlements throughout the state.
"You can see from the huge turnout here... how close the former ruler was to his people. Many have come today and waited patiently for their turn before paying their last respects," he added.
Teacher Jumariah Saldi, 37, said she left Rompin after sahur (pre-dawn meal) today so that she could make it to the palace with her family members.
“I came with my children at about 9am and entered the palace hall to offer our prayers. I remember during the floods in the state, Sultan Ahmad Shah would visit relief centres and he would instruct the Welfare Department to prepare good food for the victims,” she added.
School clerk J. Venugopal, 50, from Bentong said the former ruler was well-liked by the people in the district, in particular the Indian folks. Each time he visited the district, they would turn up in large numbers to greet him.
Sultan Ahmad Shah’s body will be taken to the royal mausoleum using a special palanquin along a 2.2km stretch for the burial after Zohor prayers.
An 88-gun salute, symbolising the former sultan’s age, will be fired when the body is placed on the palanquin. It will be fired every 23m between the palace and the burial ground.
Sultan Ahmad Shah breathed his last at 8.50am yesterday at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur. He was 88.