Malaysian sultans choose new king in unique rotational monarchy

Sultan Ibrahim of the southern state of Johor will hold the largely ceremonial post for five years. Malaysia has announced that its next and 17th king will be Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar from the southern state of Johor. Sultan Ibrahim was chosen by the country’s nine sultans at a session of the Conference of Rulers on Friday and will be installed on January 31 next year. “I hereby inform that the Conference of Rulers, during its 263rd 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 Jan 31, 2024,” the keeper of the Royal Seal said in a statement. King Al-Sultan Abdullah has used the monarch’s discretionary powers to choose the country’s last three prime ministers, including after the election in 2022 when no single party won a parliamentary majority.