The Malaysian Insight

SULTAN Muhammad V’s surprise abdication as Agong just two years into his five-year term on the throne has been called a “modern-day upheaval” that has gripped Malaysians and international observers alike, according to foreign publications.

A statement from Istana Negara yesterday stated that Sultan Muhammad V was stepping down in accordance with Article 32(3) of the federal constitution but offered no reason for his abdication.

From The Wall Street Journal to The Japan Times, news of the abdication – the first in Malaysia’s 61-year history as a constitutional monarchy – made the rounds in all the major news publications.

“The dramatic development – for which the palace offered no official reason – is likely to shock citizens who largely revere the country’s hereditary rulers and are unused to modern-day upheavals in the monarchy,” said The South China Morning Post.

The Sydney Morning Herald called the news a “shock abdication”, as it marks the first time a monarch has stepped down before completing his five-year tenure.

Many of the reports linked the abdication to news that Sultan Muhammad V married a Russian model months back, with British television network ITV news saying the sultan “unexpectedly abdicates after marrying 25-year-old former Russian beauty queen”.

In the BBC’s report headlined “Malaysia king: Sultan Muhammad V abdicates in historic first”, the resignation was said to come “amid intense speculation about Muhammad V’s private life following reports that he has married a Russian”.

Sultan Muhammad V, the ruler of Kelantan, was made the country’s king in 2016.

The Oxford-educated ruler was rumoured to have been asked to abdicate by his fellow sultans in the Conference of Rulers, following the reported marriage. Istana Negara has neither confirmed nor denied the wedding.

The Malay rulers will now have to meet to decide on who among them would be the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong. – January 7, 2019.