TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Sultan of Kelantan named new Malaysian king
Change Size
Sultan Muhammad V will serve a five-year term as Malaysian king effective on Dec. 13, 2016. (The Star/ANN/-)
Malaysia's Conference of Rulers on Friday elected the Sultan of Kelantan as the next Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Sultan Muhammad V will serve a five-year term from Dec 13.
Sultan of Perak Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah was elected as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the same period.
Malaysia practises a rotating monarchy system among the nine states which have hereditary royal rulers known as Sultan. Yang di-Pertuan Agong acts as the country’s head of state, and is elected from among the Sultans that form the Conference of Rulers.
The Sultan of Kedah, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, is the current king and his tenure ends on Dec 12. After Kedah, Kelantan is the state that is next in line for the post.
Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah is the country’s first ruler to have held the position twice.
On the Facebook page of Johor Southern Tigers, a page regularly used by Johor’s Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim to issue statements, a post was shared on Friday to say that the Johor Sultan had “respectfully declined the offer” to be the next king.
There was some talk earlier that the other rulers may deviate from the rotation system, although it has never happened before.
Much attention has been given to Friday’s appointment of the next king following former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad’s meeting with the current king to hand in his Citizen’s Declaration bearing 1.4 million signatures and to voice concerns over the country’s present leadership.
The Citizens’ Declaration campaign was launched by Mahathir and 50 others in March this year, urging Malaysians to join in efforts calling for the removal of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
