Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the late sultan will be deeply missed as he was a ruler who was loved by all Malaysians.
“May the spirit of His Highness be placed among those with iman,” Lim said in an official statement today.
Meanwhile, the Selangor state secretary’s office said it was saddened with the passing of Sultan Abdul Halim and would ask for all Selangorians to lower both their Jalur Gemilang and state flags.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak also ordered the Jalur Gemilang to be flown at half-mast for three days beginning yesterday.
The late ruler first ascended the throne as the fifth Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 1970, at the age of 43. He became the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2011, under a unique rotation system of election of the nine Malay Rulers.
He is the only sultan to have held the post twice. He passed away yesterday at the age of 89.
Sultan Abdul Halim was born on Nov 28, 1927, and ascended the Kedah throne after the demise of his father, Sultan Badlishah, in 1959.
He was married to Sultanah Bahiyah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, who died in 2003.
He then married a commoner from Perak, Haminah Hamidun, who was crowned as Sultanah in 2004.
Sultan Abdul Halim’s brother, Tunku Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, is expected to be proclaimed the new Kedah sultan at the Istana Anak Bukit in Alor Setar this afternoon.