Eligible no more!

For the last week, Perak has been on a high. Come Thursday, the excitement would reach fever pitch. Even our victory last Sunday as runner-up in the 2007 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for Hockey - after an arid 20-year (?) participation - was no match. The state was jubilant when the palace announced that our Raja Muda was finally tying the knot. It was a long time coming. Tall, good-looking, educated and well-brought up, the Raja Muda is the epitome of a modern-day prince who couldn't possibly have had any difficulty picking a bride. That he finally did - albeit at 51 - is certainly cause for rejoicing. All this time, the speculations had been rife; the past years had seen the rumour mill on overdrive. We (the royal watchers!) thought he would end his bachelorhood at 30, but he didn't. Well, perhaps 40 then; after all, that was the proverbial 'turning point-age'. When 40 came and went, without so much as a glimmer, we gave up even talking about it!

Now that the moment is finally here, we are near-ecstatic. Any impending marriage is cause for celebration in one form or other. And when it is a royal wedding, it takes on a whole new meaning for the rakyat. Thursday, 17 May 2007 will be a day of reverie; the glitter and splendour soon to unfold will remind us that romance is in the air, and all is not lost in love. Perhaps even for the briefest of moments, the event would be a respite from the ills of the day manifest in murders, rape, theft, embezzlement, and what-have-you splashed across the local dailies. We will witness a wedding not unlike a fairy tale when the Prince begets his Cinderella. The Perakians and others not fortunate enough to merit an invitation to the wedding, will have to make do with the coverage on TV, giant screens and newspapers. But it will be no less joyful.

But what touched the right chord in me was the Prince wanting to foot the bill for the wedding. What a princely gesture! He refused what is a rightful allocation for an heir to the throne. An unprecedented step. It was a magnanimity so becoming of one who will one day be a head of state that it bodes well for Perak. His invitation of the less priviledged to share in the merriment epitomises his empathy for his people. If nothing else, for this alone, I am proud to be a Perakian. To the Raja Muda, I wish you well as you embark on this phase of your life. May Allah bless you; may you continue to shower us with your generosity and altruism.