More than 120 Malaysian expatriates gathered in Taipei on Saturday to celebrate the 46th birthday of Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, the 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or king, of Malaysia.
The lavish feast, featuring homemade Malay cuisine, was hosted at the residence of the director of the Malaysian Friendship and Trade Center, Dato’ Abdullah Mohd Salleh, who led the crowd in a prayer to wish the king a healthy, long life and prosperity for all Malays in Taiwan.
The representative said the celebration was one of the most important holidays in his country to express respect and deference to the king.
Although Taiwan and Malaysia do not share diplomatic ties, he said the trade volume between the two countries continued to grow, with Taiwan now the ninth-biggest trading partner.
Approximately 10,000 Malaysians reside in Taiwan, of which 3,800 are students, he said.
Last year, more than 170,000 Taiwanese tourists visited Malaysia, a slight decrease from the 200,000 in the previous year. The representative said he expected the figure to jump back as the global economy recovers.
Starting next month, Air Asia, the Malaysia-headquartered budget travel company, and Malaysia Airlines are expected to launch two new direct flights between Taipei and Kuala Lumpur, he said.
Mizan, who is the 16th Sultan of the state of Terengganu, became king of Malaysia on Dec. 13, 2006 based on a five-year rotational constitutional monarchy system practiced among the nine Malay rulers.
Ascending the throne at the age of 44, he is the second-youngest Yang di-Pertuan Agong since the office was established in 1957.
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