While the position is mostly ceremonial, one important duty is to decide who leads the government when no party has a majority. Sultan Ibrahim’s predecessor did so three times, most recently after the country’s first-ever hung parliament in 2022.
The Sultan of Johor took the throne as Malaysia’s king, a role that’s become increasingly important in determining who holds power in the Southeast Asian nation.
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar was crowned king in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday. The head of Malaysia’s southernmost state starts a five-year term under the country’s unique constitutional monarchy, in which the hereditary royals of nine states take turns on the throne.
