Malaysia’s royal picks Pahang’s Sultan as new king

Malaysia's royal families on Thursday picked a sports-loving sultan as the country's new king after the last monarch abdicated in a historic first following his reported marriage to a Russian ex-beauty queen.

The previous king, Sultan Muhammad V, stepped aside this month following just two years on the throne after reports surfaced he had married the former Miss Moscow while on medical leave.

Malaysia has an unusual constitutional monarchy, where the top job rotates between nine hereditary state rulers every five years.

The king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is largely ceremonial and does not participate in daily governance.

There was great shock across Malaysia at the first abdication of a monarch in the Muslim-majority country's history.

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, a keen athlete who holds a string of positions on sporting bodies, including at world football governing body FIFA, was elected as the new king during a special meeting of Malaysia's Islamic royalty.

Sultan Abdullah "has been chosen as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) for a period of five years starting from January 31, 2019," said a statement from the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal, Syed Danial Syed Ahmad.

Eight of the state sultans earlier met at the national palace in Kuala Lumpur for the so-called "Conference of Rulers" to select the new king.

Abdullah was widely expected to become king as the central state of Pahang was next in line to provide the monarch

The 59-year-old was named Pahang's new ruler -- replacing his elderly, ailing father -- several days after Muhammad V's abdication, paving the way for him to become the next national monarch.

The deputy king was named as Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak state, according to the statement.

Portraits of the king and queen adorn government buildings throughout the country. The king is also the symbolic head of Islam in the nation, as well as the nominal chief of the military.

Malaysia's sultans trace a lineage back to the Malay sultanates of the 15th century. The king's official title, Yang di-Pertuan Agong, means "He Who Is Made Lord".