Malaysia’s royals to pick next king: Why does the country have rotational monarchy?

Malaysia’s royal heads will be electing the country’s next king on Friday (27 October), as per state news agency Bernama. The Conference of Rulers, comprising rulers of nine Malay states, will vote for a new monarch who will replace King Abdullah Sultan Ahmad. The Southeast Asian country, which is a parliamentary democracy, has a unique system wherein the heads of its nine royal families pick the monarch amongst themselves for a five-year term. While the king is the head of the state in Malaysia, his role is largely ceremonial. But, the monarch has gained more prominence in the last few years, especially due to the prolonged political instability in the country. What is Malaysia’s rotational monarchy?  Under Malaysia’s rotational monarchy, the position of king, also known as Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and his deputy are shifted among the rulers of nine of its 13 states. Out of these nine royal rulers, seven are called sultans, one is Raja and the other is Yang di Pertuan Besar, noted Bloomberg.  The king dwells at the national palace in the capital Kuala Lumpur during his five year term. [caption id=“attachment_13302842” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A view of the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Reuters File Photo[/caption] After Malaysia gained independence from the British in 1957, the order of rotation among the sultans was determined by seniority, based on how long they had been ruling. But that rule was dropped after all the royal families completed a term each. They now take turns based on the initial order. Nevertheless, they hold a secret vote but the ballot only has the name of the sultan whose turn it is. Each sultan is required to indicate whether they believe the nominee is suitable to be king. The candidate must get a simple majority to become king. Once the result is announced, the ballot papers are destroyed in the presence of the sultans. What powers does the monarch have?  The monarch acts as the custodian of Islam in the Muslim-majority country. The king “shall take precedence over all persons in the federation”, Bloomberg reported citing Malaysia’s Constitution. He holds the sole discretion to appoint a prime minister and can reject requests to dissolve Parliament. The federal constitution requires the monarch to act upon the advice of the prime minister and cabinet with only a few exceptions. The king is allowed to appoint a prime minister who he believes has a parliamentary majority, a power never utilised until 2020 as the premier is typically picked through an election. But a series of political shocks in recent years has forced the monarchy to play a greater role, with the incumbent king, Al-Sultan Abdullah, picking the last three prime ministers. [caption id=“attachment_13302832” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Queen Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah attend a welcoming ceremony at the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, in January 2019. Reuters File Photo[/caption] In 2020, when then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad resigned, the king met all 222 lawmakers to decide which of them could command a majority to form the next government. He appointed Muhyiddin Yassin as the premier after those meetings. After Muhyiddin lost majority in 2021, the king selected Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the next PM after a similar process. The monarch chose Anwar Ibrahim as the premier late last year after the general election resulted in a hung Assembly. The king also has the power to pardon convicted people. In 2018, the then-monarch pardoned Anwar, who was imprisoned on sodomy and corruption charges that he says were politically motivated. Former prime minister Najib Razak, who was jailed last year after being convicted of graft linked to state fund 1MDB, has applied for a royal pardon. That request could be reviewed by the new king. Who will be Malaysia’s next king?  Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar is next in line to be the monarch after King Al-Sultan Abdullah’s term expires in January. Sultan Ibrahim has previously spoken about taking over as the king as well as his business ventures. Unlike other sultans, he has also been outspoken about politics, and has said he has a good relationship with the prime minister. The sultan, who is known to have a big collection of luxury cars and motorbikes, has wide-ranging business interests from real estate to mining. A company he has a stake in has a joint venture with struggling Chinese property developer Country Garden to develop a $100 billion project called Forest City in Johor. The sultan has publicly advocated setting up a special economic zone between Johor and neighbouring Singapore to strengthen ties. With inputs from Reuters and Bloomberg