A unique organization. In Malaysia, the king has a five-year term after which one of the heads of the country’s nine royal families succeeds him. While he was appointed sovereign in January 2019, King Abdullah Shah had to give way to his successor: Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. This Wednesday, January 31, during a ceremony at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, the 65-year-old billionaire, who was elected last October, took the oath of office before Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. “By this oath, I [jure] solemnly and sincerely to be loyal, dand rule justly for Malaysia in accordance with the laws and the Constitution“, he said during his inauguration. Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar therefore became the seventeenth king of the country, thirty-five years after his father.
Because, yes, Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who was born in 1958, is the son of Iskandar, king of Malaysia between 1984 and 1989 and former sultan of Johor. As a reminder, this is a dynamic region, which is located on the border with Singapore. When his father died in 2010, Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar became sultan of the southern state of Johor. During the exercise of his power, he built a reputation as a man of character. In 2013, for example, it mandated that weekend days, which had previously been Saturday and Sunday, are now Friday and Saturday. A strong measure that allows Muslims in the state to attend their Friday prayers. As reported 20 minutesin a portrait dedicated to the new sovereign, he would be a “active leader who was trained as a military officer”and which is also a “motorcycle enthusiast”. According to Bloomberg, his family’s fortune is estimated at more than $5.7 billion.
Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar: “I will support the Government”
In December 2023, a few weeks before ascending the throne, Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar gave an interview to the Singaporean daily The Straits Times. The sovereign then revealed that he did not want to be a “puppet king”. “YOU [les parlementaires] are 222 in Parliament. They [les Malaisiens] there are more than 30 million outside. I’m not with you, I’m with them”, he explained, before concluding: “I will support the Government, but if I think they are doing something wrong I will tell them.” That has the merit of being clear.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias.
Photo credits: Hasnoor Hussain/AP/SIPA