Agong’s Birthday is a national holiday in Malaysia allocated on the King’s date of birth that is celebrated on a yearly basis to allow the citizens to honour his Majesty’s special day. In Malaysia, the King is also referred to as Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
| Date | Day | Holiday | States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep | Monday | Agong’s Birthday | National |
Agong’s Birthday is a public holiday that allows the Malaysian citizens to show appreciation towards their King. Every year, the grand celebration of Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s birthday takes place at Malaysia’s national palace called Istana Negara in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Agong’s Birthday ceremony is much formal compared to other holidays in the country.
As Malaysia’s head of state, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is assigned duties to perform during his five-year reign. These duties include the roles in executive, legislative and judiciary, as well as the three branches of the Government in the Federal Constitution. Agong’s Birthday celebration will start early in the morning, where the King will deliver a speech from the throne room of his palace to the people that will usually be broadcasted live via television so that it can be witnessed by many.
Serious issues will be addressed during the speech on Agong’s Birthday including the country’s political state, global challenges and the citizen’s welfares. Malaysian national achievers or those who had showcased acts of heroism for the country will be awarded during Agong’s Birthday ceremony with medals and ribbons as a sign of appreciation.
Apart from being the time to honour the birth date and amazing roles his Majesty has served for the nation, the celebration is also accompanied by some traditions to make it more meaningful. Besides the speech given by the King from the throne room that has been practised for many years in the country, the speech will be followed later by a traditional royal high-tea reception at the palace in the afternoon time.
The most typical tradition practice during Agong’s Birthday is ‘Trooping the Colour parade’ at Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur. Inherited from the British culture, the parade is usually participated by three main branches of Malaysian Armed Forces which are the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Malaysian Airforce.
It has been a tradition for Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who is the Supreme Commander of Malaysian Armed Forces to takes a salute together with the commanders and members of the three forces at the parade’s field on Agong’s Birthday celebration day. This ceremony also symbolises the Malaysian Armed Forces' pledge of loyalty to the King of Malaysia. The ceremony will be held every year on Agong’s Birthday public holiday and open for the public to witness.
