KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia on Thursday installed a new king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, after the last monarch abdicated in a historic first following his reported marriage to a Russian ex-beauty queen. His predecessor, Sultan Muhammad V, stepped aside this month after just two years on the throne after he went on medical leave. No official reason was given for his abdication, but it was the first time a king had stepped aside before the end of his term in the Muslim-majority country. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with a unique arrangement where the national throne changes hands every five years between royal rulers of the country’s nine states. The king is also the symbolic head of Islam in the nation, as well as the nominal chief of the military.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 31, 2019 05:37 UTC