KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian sultan has been given a life-size replica of Fred Flintstone’s car from the classic cartoon, although the modern update has an engine so he won’t tire out his regal feet.

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johor, one of Malaysia’s most powerful and wealthiest state rulers, received the belated birthday gift from a fellow high-ranking royal this week.

The model of the car from “The Flintstones”, the sultan’s favourite cartoon, is an accurate likeness of the original, with a wood-like finish on the sides, stone-like finish on the wheels and cloth roof.

It will take pride of place in a house he built in the southern coastal town of Mersing inspired by the Flintstone’s home from the 1960s cartoon.

“Yabba, dabba, doo,” said a post on the sultan’s Facebook page Monday, using Fred’s favourite catchphrase to announce the arrival of the gift from the crown prince of Pahang state.

Pictures showed the car on the back of a flatbed truck as it was handed over to the sultan.

Manjit Abdullah, a representative of the Pahang crown prince who delivered the vehicle, said it was a late gift for his birthday, which falls in November.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2018