Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin visits Hotel Equatorial Penang with his entourage

I am learning about the country of Malaysia, its culture and traditions. Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin is the Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Perlis, one of the thirteen states of Malaysia. Since 1957 when Malaysia gained independence from the United Kingdom, there is the Malaysian head of state known as Yang di-Pertuan Agong. If you translate this into English, it literally means “He who is made Lord.” But more commonly he is known as “King” or “Supreme Ruler.” Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected monarch as head of state, quite rare in the world. An example that you might be able to understand of elected monarchy is the election of the Pope by the College of Cardinals in Vatican City.

In Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy , the role of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is mostly ceremonial. There is a Council of Ministers with a Prime Minister as their leader who runs the government. The Prime Minister is appointed by the King from among the elected Parliament members.

Got a little side tracked, but the King’s role is rotated every five years among the nine hereditary rulers of the states of Malaysia. There are a total of thirteen states, however only nine have royal rulers. Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin was the 12th Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 2001 to 2006. Therefore, although no longer the King, it is a very big deal to have him come and stay at our hotel.

I was able to take some pictures of his arrival to the hotel this week. He was escorted to the hotel by a motorcade of police officers in their cars and motorbikes. The hotel laid out a red carpet and greeted him at the porte cochere. I thought it was very organized and with the right amount of pomp and circumstance. I believe he had a very busy, yet comfortable stay at Hotel Equatorial Penang.

Durian Party

Durian is the "king of fruits" in Asia. It is a very strange looking fruit enclosed in a husk with sharp thorns on it. I was very surprised to hear that people have durian parties. It's a get together with friends where they sit around and eat durian. Other fruits are also served but the center of attention is the durian. I have been told that there are many varieties of durian and certain ones are considered better than others, thus costing more.

What is very interesting about this particular fruit is that it has a rather unique smell. It smells a bit like cheese, like something rotting. I found the smell to be a little hard to take but I think I can handle it, after all, I am a natto aficionado and I love blue cheese. Most of the establishments (hotels and restaurants) do not have durian on their menu because the odor is offensive to many guests. I guess you either love it or despise it.

I have heard that durian is rich in Vitamin C and potassium. The estrogen in it is supposed to make you fertile. Some say that it is also an aphrodisiac. The Malay people use it in their candy, cakes, milkshakes and ice cream.

I have yet to taste it and I better do it soon because durian is seasonal and is only around from June to August. I can't wait to have our kids try this when they come to visit us in Penang! Torture them with a bit of durian. But who knows, they might like it.

*Close up picture of fruit is from Wikipedia.