SULTAN NAZRIN JOINS THOUSANDS IN BIRTHDAY RUN 

KUALA KANGSAR, Nov 16 (Bernama) -- Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah and Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim today joined more than 9,000 participants in the Sultan Perak Birthday Run at Dataran Pavilion here.

Also in attendance were Raja Di Hilir Perak Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Sultan Idris Shah, Their Royal Highnesses’ daughter Raja Nazira Safya and Sultan Nazrin’s sister Raja Datuk Seri Yong Sofia.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad and his wife Datin Seri Aezer Zubin, along with state executive councillors and heads of departments were also present.

The run, which started at 6.45 am, was held in conjunction with the Sultan’s 69th birthday celebration observed on Nov 7.

Their Royal Highnesses later travelled in a special vehicle together with Raja Nazira Safya to visit several checkpoints featuring cultural dance performances as well as an exhibition of assets and demonstrations by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

Earlier, Sultan Nazrin flagged off participants in the 15-kilometre (km), 10km and 7km categories, while Raja Datuk Seri Yong Sofia flagged off runners in the VIP guest category over a distance of 3km.

Before departing, Sultan Nazrin and Tuanku Zara attended a banquet and the prize-giving ceremony.

The winners of the 15km event received RM800, RM700 and RM600 respectively, each with a plaque, while the 10km winners took home RM600, RM500 and RM400 respectively, also with plaques.

Now in its 11th edition, the run covered several village areas in Mukim Sayong, Kota Lama Kanan, the Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Bridge and various other locations along the route.

A variety of performances and activities enlivened the event, including traditional games such as gasing (spinning tops) and sepak raga, labu sayong demonstrations, rebana performances, Chinese and Indian drum performances, and stalls offering traditional Perak cakes and delicacies.

-- BERNAMA