KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Sultan Ibrahim from the southern state of Johor was sworn in as the country's new king on Wednesday, taking the oath of office in a ceremony at the national palace in Kuala Lumpur.
The monarchy plays a mostly ceremonial role in Malaysia, but its influence has grown in recent years, prompting the king to wield rarely-used discretionary powers to quell political instability.
Under a unique system of monarchy, the heads of Malaysia's nine royal families take turns to be the King, known as the "Yang di-Pertuan Agong" every five years.
Sultan Ibrahim, 65, succeeds Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who is returning to lead his home state of Pahang after completing his five-year tenure as king.
While the monarchy is largely seen as above politics, Sultan Ibrahim has been noted for his forthrightness and outsized personality, often weighing in on the country's political issues.
Known for his large collection of luxury cars and motorbikes, Sultan Ibrahim has wide-ranging business interests from real estate to mining, including a stake in Forest City - a US$100-billion China-backed land reclamation and development project off Johor.
Pictures of the new Sultan of Johor and his family on a wall at the lobby of a small wayside inn in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Jan 4, 2024. (Photo: Bloomberg)
The sultan is a motorcycle-riding, Ferrari-driving, Instagram-savvy royal, who has pursued private business activities in addition to carrying out his official duties. His family’s assets with readily available valuations are worth at least $5.7 billion, according to an estimate by Bloomberg.
He was sworn in as the 17th king of Malaysia in an opulent ceremony decked in the royal colour of yellow and attended by all the Malay rulers and members of the government. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim completed the ceremony by announcing his appointment at the royal palace in Kuala Lumpur.
While the position is mostly ceremonial, one important duty is to decide who leads the government when no party has a majority. Sultan Ibrahim's predecessor did so three times, most recently after the country's first-ever hung parliament in 2022.