Malaysia crowns Sultan Abdullah as new King

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was sworn in as Malaysia's 16th king in a ceremony at the national palace on Thursday.

Pahang's Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was elected as the new Malaysian king last week by members of the country's royal families, following the unexpected abdication of the previous monarch. Abdullah is joined by Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak as the deputy head of state for the next five years.

Sultan Abdullah arrived to a state welcome at the Parliament Square, and was met by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The central band of the Royal Malay Regiment played the national anthem. Subsequently, the Royal Standard of the king was hoisted and a 21-gun salute was fired. Sultan Abdullah then inspected the main guard-of-honour from the 1st Battalion Royal Malay Regiment.

He later proceeded to Istana Negara to take the oath of office. At the same ceremony, the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, took the oath of office as deputy king.

Abdullah (59) is heavily involved in sports and is a council member of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and a council member of FIFA, the football international governing body, Xinhua reported. He was the president of the Football Association of Malaysia.

His appointment came after his predecessor Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan state resigned on Jan. 6.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, with nine sultans or rulers, who head their respective state and act as the religious leader, taking turns to serve as the king for a five-year term.