His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday attended the opening of the first sitting of the fifth session of the Legislative Council meeting at its building in Jln Kebangsaan.

Also present were His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and HRH Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

His Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses earlier received a royal salute. The monarch later inspected a guard of honour mounted by personnel of the Royal Brunei Police Force. The Legislative Council members will analyse the minutes of last year's session.

Other highlights in this year's meeting, adjourned yesterday and to be continued this Saturday afternoon, include the deliberation on the budget allocation for 2009/2010. - Borneo Bulletin (12th Mar 2009)