Sultan Abdullah of Pahang state is Malaysia's new King

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Sultan Abdullah of Pahang state is Malaysia's new King

As well as being a member of the FIFA council, Sultan Abdullah is president of the Asian Hockey Association

Thursday January 24, 2019 9:33 PM, ummid.com & Agencies

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia on Thursday named Sultan Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang state as the country’s 16th King.

Sultan Abdullah will officially take over as King or Yang di-Pertuan Agong on January 31, replacing his predecessor Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan state who resigned on January 6 amidst rumors he married a Russian former beauty queen, Xinhua reported citing a statement issued by the Keeper of the Ruler’s Seal.

Reports that Sultan Muhammad V married former Miss Moscow, Oksana Voevodina, 25, surfaced in November 2018. Reports further claimed that the Russian beauty had converted to Islam in April 2018 before tying the knot with the 49-year-old Malaysian monarch.

The 59-year-old Abdullah became Sultan of the Malaysian state of Pahang, succeeding his father Sultan Ahmad Shah, 88, who abdicated on January 11 due to ill health. Sultan Abdullah is a keen athlete who holds a string of positions on sporting bodies, including on the council of world football governing body FIFA.

As well as being a member of the FIFA council -- which lays out the vision for global football -- he is president of the Asian Hockey Association and a former head of the Football Association of Malaysia.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, with a unique arrangement where the national throne changes hands every five years between rulers of the country's nine states headed by Islamic royalty.

Malaysia's sultans trace a lineage back to the Malay sultanates of the 15th century. The king is referred to as Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or "He Who Is Made Lord".

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