KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia installed on Wednesday a billionaire motorcycle-riding sultan as the country\u2019s newest king, a ceremonial role that is expected to gain more significance in governance during his term.
\nThe Muslim-majority Southeast Asian nation is a constitutional monarchy with a unique system in which the king\u2019s post rotates between the chiefs of its nine Islamic royal Malay houses every five years.
\nDressed in dark blue ceremonial attire, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, the ruler of the country\u2019s southern Johor state, took his oath of office as he ascended the throne as Malaysia\u2019s 17th supreme monarch.
\n\u201cWith this oath, I solemnly and truly profess to be faithful, to rule fairly for Malaysia in accordance with the laws and constitution of the country,\u201d the 65-year-old royal said at the national palace in Kuala Lumpur.
\nThe ceremony was witnessed by the other Malay sultans, government officials and various dignitaries.
\nSultan Ibrahim was elected by his fellow monarchs last year. Appointments to the role follow a rotation held since Malaysia\u2019s independence from British colonial rule in 1957.
\nHe replaces Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of the central state of Pahang \u2014 whose reign ended Tuesday \u2014 as the nation\u2019s new Yang di-Pertuan Agong or \u201cHe Who is Made Lord.\u201d
\nThousands of people lined the streets in the state capital of Johor Bahru early Wednesday morning to see off their sultan as he traveled from his palace in a royal entourage toward the city\u2019s airport.
\nOn arrival in Kuala Lumpur, he was greeted by members of Malaysia\u2019s ruling elite and officials as he inspected a guard of honor before taking his oath.
\nPrime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed Sultan Ibrahim and his Queen Raja Zarith Sofiah in their new stations.
\n\u201cThe people and I will continue pledging unwavering obedience and loyalty to His Majesty,\u201d he said in a Facebook post.
\n\u201cWe pray His Majesty and the entire Royal Institution will be showered with blessings and always be in good health, wellness and sovereignty.\u201d
\nA powerful and influential figure, Sultan Ibrahim presides over the country\u2019s southernmost peninsular state, which borders Singapore by a causeway.
\nHolding significant business interests, he and his family have been estimated to be worth at least $5.7 billion, with shares in major Malaysian firms as well as land in Singapore.
\nA motorcycle enthusiast, he leads an annual motor vehicle tour of the state and also commands his own private army, the only state allowed to do so.
\nMalaysia\u2019s kings serve as the official head of Islam in the country and commander-in-chief of its armed forces.
\nWhile they hold only ceremonial power, they can appoint a lawmaker who has a parliamentary majority as the country\u2019s premier and exercise certain discretionary powers during a national crisis.
\nA fiercely outspoken royal, Sultan Ibrahim vowed in a December interview with Singapore\u2019s Straits Times newspaper not to be a \u201cpuppet king.\u201d
\nHe said at the time: \u201cThere are 222 of you (lawmakers) in Parliament. There are over 30 million (Malaysians) outside. I\u2019m not with you, I\u2019m with them.
\n\u201cI will support the government, but if I think they are doing something improper, I will tell them.\u201d
\nBowerGroupAsia director Arinah Najwa Ahmad Said told Arab News she expected to see a politically stable administration in the near future, with Sultan Ibrahim exercising a more \u201chands-on leadership.\u201d
\nShe said: \u201cHe would be more hands-on in governance. How hands-on it will be remains to be seen, but there would be a lot more oversight on things.
\n\u201cHe will be a bit more vocal on certain issues and he will try to command a certain kind of order at least.\u201d
\nShe added that Sultan Ibrahim was also expected to focus on more socio-economic development especially in the state of Johor, given its border with wealthy neighbor Singapore.
\nMalaysia\u2019s royalty has a lineage that dates back to the 15th century, and it commands great respect from the country\u2019s population of 33 million, especially from the Muslim ethnic Malay majority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia installed on Wednesday a billionaire motorcycle-riding sultan as the country\u2019s newest king, a ceremonial role that is expected to gain more significance in governance during his term. The Muslim-majority Southeast Asian nation is a constitutional monarchy with a unique system in which the king\u2019s post rotates between the chiefs of its nine …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":60224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60227,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60221\/revisions\/60227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}