SELANGOR ROYAL FAMILY; Tengku Amir(2nd from right) with his father, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and his two step sisters, Tengku Zerafina(left) and Tengku Zatashah(right)

"Back home at Istana Mestika, I got Tengku Amir to teach me to drive the golf buggy in the safety of the palace garden. Even my kid brother gave up on me! I panic when I exceed 8 kmh"

PADA usia belasan tahun, anak-anak yang umurnya dikatakan sedang meningkat naik lumrahnya hanya sibuk dengan persekolahan serta rakan-rakan sebaya.

Tidak ada apa yang perlu dibimbangkan kerana tanggungjawab besar belum lagi diletakkan ke bahu mereka.

Namun bagi Raja Muda Selangor, Tengku Amir Sharafuddin Idris Shah yang dilantik kira-kira setahun lalu, gelaran tersebut pasti mengubah kehidupannya.

Sebagai raja muda termuda di Malaysia, baginda terpaksa memikul tanggungjawab yang berat sejak berusia 12 tahun.

Meskipun sekadar menghadiri acara rasmi sebagai tetamu kehormat, ia bukanlah satu tugas yang mudah untuk dilakukan oleh mereka yang sebaya dengannya.

Berkemeja hitam bercorak dipadankan dengan seluar panjang hitam, baginda tampak jauh lebih matang dan berkeyakinan apabila tampil di khalayak ramai.

Sambil dengan senyuman yang tidak putus-putus, beliau begitu betah melayan permintaan pihak penganjur sambil sekali sekala melambaikan tangan kepada orang ramai.

Sesuai dengan usia, baginda turut merasmikan Merry-go-round atau kuda pusing yang didatangkan khas dari Itali di ruang legar pusat membeli belah berkenaan.

Majlis pelancaran sambutan ulang tahun ini turut dihadiri oleh 200 tetamu termasuk kanak-kanak dari pelbagai pertubuhan kebajikan.

Menurut Pengurus Pemasaran Suria KLCC Sdn. Bhd., Datin Rafidah Jalil, kuda pusing yang mengandungi 30 kuda dan dua kereta kuda akan beroperasi dari pukul 10 pagi hingga pukul 10 malam.

Sebahagian daripada hasil kutipan sebanyak RM3 yang dikenakan bagi setiap tunggangan ini akan disumbangkan kepada Yayasan Raja Muda Selangor.

``Kuda pusing yang kami gelar `tunggangan kenangan' ini akan berada di ruang legar ini sehingga Jun nanti.

``Para pengunjung terutama ibu bapa boleh menderma sambil menggembirakan anak-anak menunggang kuda pusing ini,'' katanya pada Majlis Pelancaran Sambutan Ulang Tahun Ke-5 Suria KLCC di Kuala Lumpur, baru-baru ini.

Tambah Rafidah, selain kuda pusing, pihaknya turut mengadakan pelbagai acara sempena sambutan ulang tahun berkenaan sehingga Jun ini. Antaranya ialah Perkelahan Teddy Bear untuk kanak-kanak berusia tiga hingga 10 tahun pada 25 Mei ini.

Turut diadakan ialah Pertandingan Akhir Suria KLCC Fashion Flair pada 12 Mei, Pelancaran Sudut Suria, Anugerah Cemerlang Penyewa dan lain-lain lagi.

HIS Royal Highness Tengku Amir Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the Raja Muda of Selangor, sits on the "throne" in the stately manner of a boy-royal born to perform public duties. Unfazed by the non-stop flashlights of photographers jostling to get a good shot of him, the prince smiles sweetly.

The occasion was the unveilling of a glittering carousel specially brought in from Italy at the concourse of Suria KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, to kick off the month-long celebration of activities to mark the complex's fifth anniversary.

Twelve-year-old Tengku Amir also gets to take a ride on the carousel. While others sit on colourful fibreglass horses, the prince sits in a makebelief gold carriage which looks like a throne.

As the carousel spins, Tengku Amir waves to the evening crowd who flocked around the carousel as well as to those watching from the higher floors of Suria KLCC.

"Wow, he even waves like Queen Elizabeth. See the style, very royal," says one shopper as she happily clicks away. Judging by the way others push for a closer look of Tengku Amir, it is obvious that people are interested in the prince.

A royal wrote to a local newspaper recently saying that the rakyat want members of the royal household to interact more with the public unlike before.

In the past, rulers retained an air of mysticism about them because the rakyat then thrive on mysticism. Nowadays, the rakyat would like to see the rulers as being more approachable and having a better understanding of the people.

It has been a year since Tengku Amir's appointment as the Raja Muda of Selangor following his father, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah's ascent to the throne as Sultan of Selangor. He is the youngest Raja Muda since his father, who was 15 when he was designated Raja Muda of Selangor on September 3, 1960.

Although Tengku Amir has been seen with his father on official duties, the carousel unveiling is his second public function which he attended on his own.

"I am happy and excited to be here," he says in reply to written questions hastily passed to him by the Sunday Mail after he agreed to an impromptu interview.

As he sits among the other guests having a meal of fried chicken and French fries at Chilli's at Suria KLCC, his minders tell Sunday Mail that he, "is a bit shy to be interviewed but if you could write down what you want to ask, the Raja Muda will happily answer them for you. But please keep it short." So a note was passed on and event host Datin Rafidah Jalil, Suria KLCC marketing manager, quickly scribbled down verbatim the answers as the Raja Muda replies.

Tengku Amir says he agreed to grace the event because, "it is for a good cause. Part of the collection from the ticket sales for the carousel ride will be donated to the Yayasan Raja Muda Selangor, a cause which I feel strongly about." The royal trust fund, the first of its kind, was set up by Sultan of Selangor to help disadvantaged but talented youths of all races to excel in the areas of music, arts, architecture, photography and the industrial arts.

Tengku Amir is already donating RM10,000 of his monthly income towards the royal trust fund, a pledge that he will keep until he reaches the age of 21. The prince says: "These days, I feel more comfortable being in the public eye. I have been getting lots of tips from my dad. I am enjoying every moment and the best thing is I get to do things like this, something for charity and the chance to have fun with other children." The not-so-good things that comes with the responsibility? "Nothing," he replies.

Tengku Amir will only be installed when he turns 21. In the meantime, he will pursue his studies and would not participate in any state administration matters. According to his minders, his typical day starts at 6.30am ("Tak pernah tak boleh bangun. We never had difficulty getting him up at that time," says his minders) as he gets ready to leave for school by 7am. He is at Level Seven at the Alice Smith School in Cheras where he is also active in extra curriculum activities that included basketball, soccer and horse riding.

At 7pm, he will be home at the official residence, Istana Mestika ("Even if he is really enjoying himself playing some games, he will be in at 7pm on the dot.") His bedtime is at 8pm, "and sometimes he sleeps with his father. They are very close," says his minders.

Tengku Amir is from the Sultan's second marriage to Nur Lisa Abdullah. He has two sisters, Tengku Zerafina and Tengku Zatashah, from the Sultan's first marriage to Datin Paduka Raja Zarina Raja Zainal.