Metropolis Desk-
On Friday, the royal family of Malaysia selected a powerful sultan from the southern province of Johor to be the nation’s next king.
Chief of State for the armed forces and head of Islam in the nation with a majority of Muslims, the role is primarily ceremonial but has oversight over important appointments like the prime minister.
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with a distinctive structure in which the nine Malaysian states, each led by centuries-old Islamic dynasties, alternate in the throne every five years.
Following a gathering of kings in Kuala Lumpur, the nation’s capital, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar was named the nation’s seventeenth monarch.
After the current king’s reign ends on January 31 of next year, the 64-year-old will be sworn in and then there will be a coronation ceremony a few months later.
Since 1957, when Britain gained its independence, the system has been in existence. In 2019, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the reigning monarch, took the throne.
Ibrahim is descended from the powerful and affluent Johor royal family, whose leader is in charge of the family’s private army.
He frequently offers political commentary about Malaysia and maintains a close friendship with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He studied overseas in the United States and is a fully qualified army, navy, and air force officer in addition to being a hands-on monarch. The king has the authority to pardon people who have been found guilty. One of Ibrahim’s forebears, Sultan Muhammad V, pardoned Anwar in 2018 after he had served a jail sentence for sodomy.
In Malaysia, the Malay Muslim majority in the nation places a great deal of value on the function of the king. Criticism that is considered to be demeaning to the king may result in a jail sentence.
When Ibrahim’s father, Sultan Iskandar, was crowned Malaysia’s seventh monarch in 1984, it was the last time a Johor sultan became king, 39 years ago.
Source- Reuters
