Kuala Lumpur:

Sultan Ibrahim, the wealthy and outspoken ruler of Malaysia’s southern state of Johor, was sworn in as the country’s new king in a ceremony on Wednesday.

Malaysia has a unique rotating monarchy, in which the heads of the country’s nine royal families take turns serving as king for five-year terms.

The monarchy plays a largely ceremonial role but has become increasingly influential in recent years due to chronic political instability in which the king rarely exercises discretion.

How to install the King?

Nine of Malaysia’s 13 states are led by traditional Malay rulers, most known as sultans, one of the largest monarchies in the world.

Malaysia established a constitutional monarchy after gaining independence from Britain. Every five years, nine rulers elect one by secret ballot to become the King of Malaysia.

The order of rotation between sultans was initially determined by seniority, depending on how long they had ruled.

But this rule was removed after all members of the royal family completed a term each, and they now serve in rotation according to their original order.

Who is the new king of Malaysia?

Sultan Ibrahim, 65, is from the southern state of Johor and his sultanate dates back to the 16th century.

While the monarchy is largely seen as above politics, Sultan Ibrahim is known for his views on governance and says he has a good relationship with the prime minister.

He owns a large collection of luxury cars and motorcycles and has extensive business interests ranging from real estate to mining. A company in which he has a stake has formed a joint venture with embattled Chinese property developer Country Garden to develop a $100 billion project called Forest City in Johor state.

The Sultan has publicly advocated for the establishment of a special economic zone between Johor and neighboring Singapore to strengthen ties, and last year said he planned to revive the stalled high-speed rail project between Malaysia and Singapore.

Johor is also the only sultanate allowed to have a private army as part of its agreement to join the Federation of Malaya before independence in 1957.

What power does the king have?

In Muslim-majority countries, the monarch plays a primarily ceremonial role and serves as the guardian of Islam.

The federal constitution requires the monarch to act on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet, with few exceptions.

The king is allowed to appoint a prime minister he believes has a majority in parliament, a power that was not used until 2020 because prime ministers are usually chosen through elections.

But a series of political shocks in recent years have forced the monarchy to take a greater role, particularly during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim’s predecessor, Sultan Abdullah from Pahang state.

Sultan Abdullah has appointed the last three prime ministers – the previous two were appointed after the collapse of successive governments, most recently in 2022 when he chose Anwar as prime minister following an election that resulted in a hung parliament.

The king also had the power to pardon those convicted of crimes. In 2018, then-monarch Sultan Mohammed V pardoned Anwar, who was jailed on sexual assault and corruption charges that he said were politically motivated.

Former prime minister Najib Razak, who was jailed last year on corruption charges linked to state fund 1MDB, has applied for a royal pardon. It is unclear whether Najib’s request will be reviewed by the new king.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)