SULTANS UNABLE TO NAME NEW AGONG YET – ONLY 6 OUT OF 9 SHOW UP AT ISTANA THIS MORNING: BUT PERAK RULER WHO IS DEPUTY AGONG TO SERVE AS KING UNTIL NEXT MEETING

KUALA LUMPUR: State monarchs have wrapped up a meeting at the Istana Negara here, today.

The Conference of Rulers had convened after Sultan Muhammad V unexpectedly resigned as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Sunday.

Only six of the nine Sultans were present at the meeting. They were Perlis ruler Tuanku Syed Sirajudin Syed Putra Jamalullail; Terengganu ruler Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin; Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir; Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar; Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzudin Shah; and Sultan of Kedah Sultan Sallehuddin Shah.

The meeting is believed to have been held to choose a date for the Conference of Rulers to convene again to elect the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Sultan Muhammad V was elected by the Conference of Rulers as King on Dec 13, 2016. His tenure was scheduled to end in 2021.

Until the Conference of Rulers decides on the next Agong, Sultan Nazrin, who is the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, will serve as acting king.

Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy system requires its Agongs to be elected by the heads of the nine royal houses who rule their own states.

As the Kelantan ruler’s resignation is unprecedented, the Conference of Rulers are now compelled to hold an unscheduled election within four weeks (based on requirements dictated by the office of the Keeper of the Royal Seal).

The Agong is elected for a five-year term by the monarchs according to guidelines set out in the Federal Constitution and the regulations of the conference.

Each head of the nine houses is given a term as Agong according to seniority – that is, the length of reign in their respective states – and subsequently, a rotational system that continued the same order was the accepted convention.

NST