Malaysia’s royalty on Friday elected Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to be the new king, as the country’s current monarch steps down next year. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with a unique system where the post of king rotates between the heads of its nine Islamic royal Malay houses every five years.
Sultan Ibrahim, 64, of the southern Johor state, was picked as the Muslim-majority nation’s 17th king after a special meeting was held on Friday morning between the nine rulers, a palace official said in a statement.
“I inform that the Conference of Rulers … have agreed to declare that His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, Sultan of Johor Darul Ta’zim has been elected as His Majesty the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal Syed Danial Syed Ahmad said. Sultan Ibrahim’s reign will last five years from Jan. 31, 2024. He will replace Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang as the country’s new Yang di-Pertuan Agong or “He Who is Made Lord.”
