Who is Malaysia's new king and what's his connection to India?

Malaysia’s royal families elected the powerful and outspoken Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar from the southern state of Johor to be the country’s next king. Sultan Ibrahim will take over from current King Al-Sultan Abdullah on 31 January 2024, the keeper of the rulers’ seal said in a statement on Friday. The king plays a largely ceremonial role in the country, but the monarchy has become more influential in recent years due to prolonged political instability that has prompted the incumbent king to wield rarely used discretionary powers. Malaysia’s unique rotational monarchy system allows the leaders of its nine royal families to serve as kings for a term of five years. The nation, a parliamentary democracy, sees the king as the head of the state. Who is Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar? Sultan Ibrahim is the ruler of Johor, Malaysia’s southernmost state that borders Singapore. He took over as Sultan on 23 January 2010 after his father passed away. With a sizable social media following and a private army, he is one of the most prominent and vocal sultans in the nation. According to the Times of India, born on 22 November 1958, he is the eldest son of the late Sultan Iskandar and has been an important figure in both the state of Johor and Malaysia. The 64-year-old studied in a number of Malaysian and foreign institutions. He received his early education at the Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar, located in Johor Bahru. Keeping up with the family tradition, he went to a few military academies, including the United Kingdom’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which served as a training ground for numerous prominent and elite figures. He also has a broad range of business interests, including mining and real estate, as per Reuters. A joint venture between a company in which he owns a share and Country Garden, a struggling Chinese developer, aims to create the $100 billion Forest City development project off the coast of Johor. Sultan Ibrahim is renowned for his determination and his love for automobiles, motorbikes, and animals. Among the more than 300 cars in his collection are a Bugatti Veyron and a gold-plated Harley-Davidson, reported TOI. In addition, he has a number of exotic pets, including crocodiles, lions, and tigers. Sultan Ibrahim has backed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition administration, which was formed in the general election earlier this year. Additionally, he has kept cordial ties with China and Singapore, two of the nation’s most significant trading allies and neighbours. His fame was accompanied by controversy. He and previous prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had disagreements on a number of topics, including the future of Forest City and the water supply between Johor and Singapore. In addition, he has criticised several federal decisions and policies, including the withdrawal from the International Criminal Court and the introduction of a goods and services tax. What are his links to India? Sultan Ibrahim’s family has had a long family tradition of getting military training. His father served in both the Indian and Malaysian armies, and the 64-year-old had his training at India’s top military academy, the Indian Military Academy (IMA), in Dehradun, according to Bernama. As per the report, Sultan Ibrahim’s eldest son, Tunku Ismail, enrolled at IMA in July 2003 as a cadet officer to further his studies and develop discipline for his royal duties. In December 2004, he was recruited into the Indian Army and commissioned as a lieutenant. In December 2007, he rose to the rank of captain. The Malaysian prince is the first non-Indian to command an Indian Army regiment during the Republic Day Parade. As a captain in the Indian Army, he led a mounted column from the 61 Cavalry regiment, which is located in Jaipur, to salute APJ Abdul Kalam, the country’s then-president, on 26 January 2007, during the Republic Day celebrations, according to PTI. Tunku Ismail was personally selected by the president to command the roughly 400 members of the world’s sole non-ceremonial horse-mounted cavalry. The parade was witnessed by the chief guest of the day Russian president Vladmir Putin, and his entourage. “To salute the President is such a great honour; I could not believe if it was in real,” Tunku Ismail had said. On 23 January 2007, Sultan Ibrahim flew from Johor Bahru to witness the event as his son etched a new chapter in the Indian Army’s history. In addition, Tunku Ismail received the 2004 IMA Cadet Best in Riding award. Why is Sultan Ibrahim’s role so crucial to Malaysia? The reign of Sultan Ibrahim comes amid a turbulent period in the nation’s history, with the COVID-19 pandemic and political instability. Sultan Ibrahim partnered with four prime ministers throughout the years, and he chose three of them to solve political deadlocks. The constitution grants the king the authority to select a prime minister who he thinks can command the support of the majority of legislators in the event of a political impasse, according to Channel News Asia (CNA). Following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2020, Sultan Ibrahim, in a rare move, met the country’s 222 lawmakers and eventually chose Bersatu chief Muhyiddin Yassin as PM. Less than a year later, when his government coalition fell, the king appointed United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) member Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister. Sultan Ibrahim then elected Pakatan Harapan chief Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s 10th PM, who led a unity government. Constitutional lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, while speaking to CNA, said that Sultan Ibrahim played a “crucial” role in forming the unity government after the 2022 federal polls. He said, “The current YDPA faced very challenging and unenviable tasks during his reign, arguably more so than any other YDPAs since independence. Arguably, (this has garnered) some success, as evident from Anwar’s government, which has survived till this day. This is important for the economy and investor confidence in the long run.” Earlier this year, in February, during his royal address in parliament, Sultan Ibrahim stressed that he did not intend to interfere with the nation’s political affairs; however, he had no choice but to avoid a crisis. “The political crisis that happened (across) almost four years could have been prevented if the MPs and politicians in the country were able to set aside their differences and unite solely on the basis of protecting the country and its people’s interest,” he said. With inputs from agencies