Malaysia has recently declared Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar from the southern state of Johor as its upcoming 17th king. The selection, made by the country’s nine sultans during a Conference of Rulers session, will see Sultan Ibrahim formally installed on January 31 of the next year.
“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 Jan 31, 2024,” the keeper of the Royal Seal said in a statement.
Although the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or “King of Kings,” serves as a constitutional monarch, recent years have witnessed a more active royal involvement in politics. King Al-Sultan Abdullah, exercising discretionary powers, has played a key role in appointing the last three prime ministers, a trend that began after the 2018 elections and continued through the political shifts of subsequent ruling coalitions.
