BRUNEI Press through its team of Borneo Bulletin journalists yesterday presented His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam with pesambah in the form of two framed photographs by two of its resident photographers.

The two photos, captured by Borneo Bulletin photographers Azrol Azmi and Dean Kassim respectively, were brought into the field just before the royal entourage concluded the get-together ceremony.

Taking a moment from their photographic duties, the duo joined in the throng of people and waited for their turn to personally present their gifts to His Majesty. His Majesty was ushered by Dean Kassim to view his personal pesambah, which was taken during the Brunei vs Indonesia game of the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy earlier this month.

The photo captured a moment where His Majesty was in the midst of the football crowd, candidly waving to the rest of the match attendees, thus painting a picture that tells the story of a ruler who is highly adored by his people, or in the words of the local, ‘Raja Berjiwakan Rakyat’.

“It clearly shows how caring His Majesty is to the people of this nation, having showed up (at the game) much to everyone’s surprise,” said Dean, adding that the monarch’s spontaneous stroll through the crowds was a heart-warming gesture.

After having viewed Dean’s personal pesambah, the monarch later consented to receive the official pesambah from Brunei Press, a portrait of His Majesty and Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha, captured by Azrol Azmi at the joint audience ceremony of the monarch’s 68th birthday celebrations.

When asked by the Bulletin team if His Majesty like the pesambah, His Majesty responded, “Yes. Very good, very candid.”

The ruler later consented to a group photo with Borneo Bulletin journalists with the two pesambah before proceeding to the Lapau Building for a royal luncheon. - Borneo Bulletin (25 August 2014)