Malaysia prepares for ‘hands-on’ king as Johor Sultan takes the throne

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The last time a Sultan from the state of Johor was on the throne of Malaysia in the late 1980s, the country was embroiled in a constitutional crisis as then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sought to clip the wings of the judiciary.

Now, as the current Johor Sultan becomes king, Malaysia is facing a corruption crackdown which has ensnared some of the most prominent political personalities of the Mahathir era, speculation of a pardon for disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak and continued political manoeuvring as part of a realignment that began in 2018.

“It is very likely that at some point, he will be called upon to adjudicate as to which side would have a more solid command of parliament,” Malaysian political analyst Oh Ei Sun told media. “It could happen any time.”

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, 65, will be installed as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong in a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, which will be broadcast live on state television.

He will serve for five years as part of Malaysia’s unique system of rotational monarchy under which the country’s nine hereditary rulers take turns to be the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, or He Who is Made Lord.

While the king is a constitutional monarch who acts as the head of state and commander of the armed forces, the upheaval that followed the historic election in 2018 – when the once-dominant United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was defeated for the first time since independence – has seen the monarch playing a more prominent role in the country’s politics.

At the time of that defeat, King Muhammad V from the northeastern state of Kelantan, was on the throne, and helped ensure a smooth transfer of power.

When the then-49-year-old chose to resign, his successor, King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah from the central state of Pahang, used the monarch’s discretionary powers to name the country’s prime ministers in 2020 and 2021, and after the election in 2022 when no single party won a parliamentary majority.

He also agreed to then-Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s request for a state of emergency, which suspended parliament in January 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic raged.