KUALA LUMPUR: The 'Kembara Kenali Borneo' expedition lasted only 10 days, but is has left Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah with a lifetime's worth of memories.
Al-Sultan Abdullah said he often looks back at the journey and admitted that he was brought to tears by the memories.
"I admit, I shed a tear when I think about the wonderful times and the unprecedented reception accorded to my family and I when we went to Sabah and Sarawak at the end of last year.
"I'm often overcome with emotion when I look at the recordings of our time in Borneo," he said.
Al-Sultan Abdullah said he had always wanted to tour the interior of Sabah and Sarawak, as he was only able to visit Kuching and Kota Kinabalu before when he was involved in football.
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"I wanted to experience for myself the beauty of the towns and rural areas as well as see how they lived, and try their unique food.
"As such, when I was appointed as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, I had discussed with the Raja Permaisuri Agong (Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah) about visiting these places within the next five years," he said.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to the plans.
"There were movement restrictions for two years, which meant that the expedition could only be done at the tail-end of my five-year term," he said.
Al-Sultan Abdullah said he was taken back by the festive welcome accorded.
"I was touched at seeing the people willing to wait for a long time by the roadside, braving the heat and rain just for the opportunity to meet us.
"It has become one of my best memories which I will never forget," he said.
Al-Sultan Abdullah said the people of the Peninsula should be grateful for the facilities they have compared to Sabah and Sarawak.
He said he was not assigning blame, and noted that Sabah and Sarawak are double the size of Peninsular Malaysia.
"Financial factors are definitely a hindrance towards developing these areas. There must also be constant monitoring on projects there," he said.
Tunku Azizah, meanwhile, said the trip was only supposed to be a casual drive as part of the vacation itinerary.
"All we wanted was a regular drive to experience the beauty, sights and sounds of Sabah and Sarawak."
"Never did we expect the reception we got. Tuanku (Al-Sultan Abdullah) drove the whole 2,154 kilometres," she said.
Throughout the journey, the royal couple were peppered with letters from the people, containing their pleas and hopes.
Tunku Azizah said they set aside protocol during their trip, which she said was not unusual.
She said, shortly after marrying Al-Sultan Abdullah 38 years ago, he had brought her along with him into the villages to meet the people.
Al-Sultan Abdullah, she said, also encouraged her to initiate her own community programmes, especially those which involved cooking and handicrafts.
"When we had our son, he too joined us in our programmes. He appears to have inherited our trait of wanting to be close to the people," she said, expressing her pride with the Pqhang Crown Prince for fulfilling his duties while Al-Sultan Abdullah served as the King.