Malaysia's last bachelor crown prince married a Thai science graduate in a traditional Muslim ceremony witnessed by royal dignitaries from both countries and dubbed a fairytale wedding by the local media.
Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra Sultan Ismail Petra, 35, who is next in line to be the sultan of northeastern Kelantan state, wedded Kangsadal Pipitpakdee, 23, at Kelantan's royal palace late Monday in glittering rites known as "akad nikah," or the solemnizing of marriage.
The prince recited a sacred oath of marriage in front of a senior cleric and then exchanged rings with Kangsadal, who is the daughter of Viroj Pinitpakdee, a former member of Parliament from the southern Thai province of Pattani.
Thailand's Queen Sirikit, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai were among the guests at the wedding in Kelantan, a staunchly Islamic state that borders southern Thailand.
Other details were not immediately available because media outlets were barred from the ceremony.
However, preparations for the event electrified Kelantan's residents and received wide coverage. The Star newspaper called it a "fairytale wedding," while the New Straits Times announced that Tengku Faris would be a "royal bachelor no more."
Tengku Faris was Malaysia's last remaining unmarried crown prince. Nine of the country's 13 states have sultans as ceremonial rulers who take turns to be the king of Malaysia.
Kangsadal, also a Muslim, took the name of Tengku Zubaidah following the wedding. She received a crash course on local customs and royal life over the past three months.
The couple reportedly met two years ago at a wedding in Bangkok.
Banners proclaiming the occasion lined the streets of Kelantan's capital, Kota Bahru. Some roads were closed to the public to ensure that VIP vehicles could proceed smoothly to the palace.
Kangsadal was raised in Pattani, one of three Muslim provinces in predominantly Buddhist Thailand. She later furthered her studies at Bangkok's Mahidol University.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences. Guillermo Vieiro was 44 when he died in 1985 — as did his climbing partner — while descending Argentina’s Tupungato lava dome, one of the highest peaks in the Americas. Last year, his backpack was spotted on a slope by mountaineer Gabriela Cavallaro, who examined it and contacted Vieiro’s daughters Guadalupe, 40, and Azul, 44. Last month, the three set out with four other guides
Sri Lanka’s fragile economic recovery could be hampered by threatened trade union strikes over reduced benefits for government employees in this year’s budget, the IMF said yesterday. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s maiden budget raised public sector salaries, but also made deep cuts to longstanding perks in a continuing effort to repair the island nation’s tattered finances. Sri Lanka’s main doctors’ union is considering a strike from today to protest against cuts to their allowances, while teachers are also considering stoppages. IMF senior mission chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer said the budget was the “last big push” for the country’s austerity
RSS