KUALA LUMPUR: Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Ismail will be installed as Malaysia’s king from January 31, 2024, the first time he will be holding the post.
The announcement was made in a statement issued by the Keeper of the Royal Seal Syed Danial Syed Ahmad on Friday (Oct 27) after the country’s nine sultans met at the Conference of Rulers to vote on who among them would be the next head of state, also known as Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA), for the next five years.
“I hereby inform that the Conference of Rulers, during its 263rd (Special) Meeting, held at the National Palace on Friday, October 27, 2023, has agreed to declare that His Royal Highness Sultan Ibrahim, Sultan of Johor Darul Ta’zim, has been chosen as His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong XVII for a period of five years commencing from January 31, 2024,” the statement said.
It added that Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, will be appointed deputy king, also for five years from the Jan 31, 2024.
The term for the current king, Pahang ruler Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, ends on Jan 30, 2024.
Sultan Ibrahim’s coronation ceremony is expected to be held at a later date.
The decision to select Sultan Ibrahim as the next king follows the established order of Malaysia’s unique rotational system in which the country’s nine royal households take it in turns to hold the position. The system was agreed to in 1957 when Malaya secured independence from British rule.