Malaysian King weeps discussing late son during meeting with Xi Jinping
The Malaysian King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, became emotional when he told Chinese President Xi Jinping about his son who died in 2015 after battling liver cancer.
Sultan Ibrahim, who is in China on a four-day state visit that began on Sept 19, shed tears when he mentioned Tunku Abdul Jalil Iskandar Ibrahim to Xi during their meeting on Sept 20 at the Great Hall of The People.
The King expressed gratitude to China for assisting the late prince in undergoing a liver transplant at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in the southern province of Guangdong on Dec 10, 2014.
The fourth of six siblings, Tunku Abdul Jalil was battling stage four liver cancer. Although the operation was successful, he eventually died a year later at the age of 25.
Both Xi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was also present at the meeting, were “deeply moved”, reported Malaysia’s Chinese daily Sin Chew.
“They all felt Sultan Ibrahim was a father who loves his son very much,” Sin Chew quoted Malaysia’s Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming as saying.
Nga, who is part of the Malaysian delegation, also revealed that Sultan Ibrahim told Mr Xi that his great-grandmother was from Guangdong and her name was Huang Yajiao. “This means our King has Chinese ancestry,” Nga said.
Upon hearing this, Xi immediately instructed officials to go to Guangdong to trace Sultan Ibrahim’s family tree, he added.
National news agency Bernama reported that this is the first state visit by a Malaysian King to China in 10 years, marking a significant moment for both nations as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
During the meeting, Sultan Ibrahim commended China for its advancements, saying the country’s development has been impressive.
He also invited Mr Xi to visit Malaysia.
Eileen Ng
The Straits Times
Asia News Network
