Malaysia’s royal families have chosen Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, the powerful ruler of southern Johor state, as the nation’s new king through its distinctive rotating monarchy arrangement, as announced by the palace on Friday.
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, aged 64, will be officially enthroned on January 31, commencing a five-year term.
His selection was widely anticipated, as it was based on the established rotational order among the nine state rulers in the country.
He takes over from the current ruler, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of central Pahang, who presided over a tumultuous period marked by COVID-19 lockdowns and political instability that resulted in four prime ministers since the 2018 general elections.
Malaysia is the only nation worldwide that practices this unique system, with nine ethnic Malay state rulers taking turns serving as the country’s king for five-year terms, a tradition maintained since Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957.