They performed traditional dance and before the Queen as  a prelude to the start of the Baton Relay for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

The Hulubalang, or Malaysian Royal Household Guard, presented the Baton, made of silver and trimmed with gold and designed to resemble a traditional Malay "Gobek" used to pound nuts.

Badminton star Datuk Punch Gunalan stepped forward as the first Baton bearer.

Gunalan had won men’s doubles gold at the 1970 Games in Edinburgh and the men’s singles title at Christchurch 1974.

He wore a uniform which featured the Malaysian national colours, red, white, blue and yellow, a colour scheme which had also been included for the first time in the Games emblem.

For the short journey to nearby Marlborough House, Gunalan's escort included fellow Commonwealth Games badminton champions Sylvia Ng, singles gold medallist at Edmonton 1978, and Rashid Sidek, winner of the men's singles at both Auckland 1990 and Victoria 1994.

They were joined by 1994 1500 metres champion Kelly Holmes and triple swimming gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse from England.

It was by far the most spectacular start to the Queen’s Baton Relay there had yet been, and that was appropriate.

For although this was the last celebration of the Commonwealth Games in the 20th Century, it was in many ways, the first of a new era.

In Barcelona six years before, Kuala Lumpur had become the first Asian city chosen to stage the Games after a bid campaign entitled Share it with Malaysia.

They received 40 votes to beat Adelaide with 25.

"It was a day of national pride for Malaysia and a day of universal recognition of Malaysia as a country with great potential and ability," Malaysian officials said.

A year later, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) voted to substantially alter the character of the Games by admitting team sports for the first time.

"The expansion of team sports is part of the drive to give the Commonwealth games a more modern image at the turn of the century," CGF chairman Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales said.

Hockey, netball, rugby sevens and cricket were included in the most expansive sports programme ever seen at a Commonwealth Games.

This also included squash and ten pin bowling.

Even the very makeup of the Commonwealth had changed as Mozambique and Cameroon, former colonies of Portugal and France, respectively, became members.

Kiribati and Tuvalu also appeared at the Games for the first time.

On New Year’s day 1995, construction began on the Bukit Jalil National Stadium which was to be the centrepiece of the arena.

"The main outdoor stadium occupying the central and most prominent position in the National Sports Complex, is designed to harmonise the best of national and international architecture," Malaysian officials explained.

It had a capacity of 100,000 with a roof over the entire spectator seating.

It was built about 600 metres from the Games Village and was by far the largest stadium to host a Commonwealth Games up until that time.

It soon became clear that the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur would be undertaken with more teams and participants than ever before. 

As the teams entered under the lights at the Opening Ceremony, the news was conveyed that the Baton had left City Hall on its final journey, carried on an elephant called Mahkota, in what was probably the first time the Queen's Baton had been conveyed in this fashion.

Tai Aik Huang, a badminton gold medallist at Kingston 1966, began the final run towards the Stadium, where Sidek and Ng, who had been there in London at the start, continued the Relay.

Then it was over to 77 year-ld Koh En Tong, winner of Malaysia’s first gold medal as a weightlifter at Auckland in1950, accompanied by 12 year old gymnast Nurul Fatihah to represent the future.

Together they presented the Baton to CGF President Prince Edward to read the Queen’s message.

The Malaysian monarch, the Yang Dipertuan Agong Tuanku Ja'afar, beat a giant drum to set the Games in motion.

The following day Australia’s Jay Sweet took the opening gold medal in the men's cycling road race.

Effandy Rosli won the silver medal for host nation Malaysia and Erich Wohlberg of Canada claimed bronze.

It was not the first competition of the Games because preliminaries in hockey, the first of the team sports, had begun even before the Opening Ceremony.

Rugby sevens was hailed as one of the big successes at the Games.

"For a sport seeking to demonstrate what it could bring to the Commonwealth Games, Jonah Lomu was the ideal figurehead," Rugby World magazine observed.

They scored 133 unanswered points in their first two matches.

In a second group phase they also beat beat Bahamas and Tonga.

Then helped by a hat-trick of Lomu tries, they defeated Wales in the quarter finals and Samoa in the last four.

In the final, Lomu was again inspirational as New Zealand beat Fiji 21-12 to win the gold medal.

Australia, inspired by David Campese, won the bronze medal.

Campese also fired a broadside at England for leaving some of their best players at home.

Australia dominated both men’s and women’s hockey at the Games.

The men defeated host nation Malaysia 4-0 in the final to begin a gold medal sequence that has yet to be broken.

in the women's final, Australia beat England and have been almost as dominant since,winning all but two finals, the most recent defeat came at Birmingham 2022.

Australia also claimed the first netball gold with victory over New Zealand.

In cricket, a 16 team tournament for men, played over 50 overs a side, was the last major international limited overs event played in traditional whites. 

India included Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble, but did not progress beyond the group stages.

Antigua were coached by Sir Vivian Richards, one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket, and had Richie Richardson and fast bowler Curtly Ambrose in their ranks.

"Unfortunately not all the Test playing nations were wholehearted in their support," Jim Tucker observed writing in the respected Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

England, the birthplace of the game, declined to send a team, but Australia embraced the whole concept.

Their team was captained by Steve Waugh with brother Mark as vice captain, alongside Ricky Ponting and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, all later to become stars in the Australian test and World Cup team.

"When you watch the Olympic or Commonwealth Games, you can’t help thinking that winning a gold medal and hearing your anthem would be the ultimate," Steve Waugh said.

" As a cricketer it has always been an impossible dream until now,"

South Africa, had also sent a powerful team, captained by Shaun Pollock and which also included fast bowler Makhaya Ntini and a powerful batting line up including Andrew Hudson, Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis.

In the final, superb bowling by Pollock restricted Australia to 183, of which Steve Waugh made an unbeaten 90 but South Africa won by four wickets.

"When I look back on my career that chance to play for South Africa at the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur is right up there, especially as we came home with a gold medal too," Kallis admitted.

In the swimming pool, Australia's mighty swimmer Ian Thorpe gave further notice of his potential.

In Kuala Lumpur, he led the 200m freestyle throughout and took gold, only one hundredth of a second outside the world record.

He added the 400m freestyle and also came home two relay golds.

In weightlifting, Nauru’s future President Marcus Stephen won gold medals in the snatch, clean and jerk and combined events in the 62 kilograms division.

On the athletics track, victory in the women’s 200m also went to a woman also destined for a career in politics.

Indigenous Australian Nova Peris had won Olympic gold in hockey at Atlanta in 1996 before switching sport. She later served in the Senate in Australia.

Mozambique’s first Olympic medallist Maria Mutola also became her country’s first Commonwealth champion in the 800m, an event she had dominated for much of the decade.

In the men's marathon, Thabiso Paul Moqhali won Lesotho's only gold medal to date.

Denise Lewis of England retained her Commonwealth heptathlon title and two years later, she added an Olympic gold medal.

Ten pin bowling's appearance was a one-off.

The spoils in the five events were shared between Australia and Malaysia.

Kenny Ang won the men's singles and then partnered Ben Heng to the men's doubles, and was thus responsible for two of the 10 Malaysian gold medals.

When the Queen arrived to close the Games the blue CGF flag bearing the Royal crown in gold was lowered for the last time.

Before the next Games at Manchester in 2002, the CGF itself was to be re-organised and a new emblem introduced.

Malaysia gave a giant drum to the next host city as a gesture of friendship.

Four years later at the new City of Manchester Stadium, Sir Steve Redgrave struck it enthusiastically to set in motion the 2002 Opening Ceremony.