New Malaysian king takes office this week<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): A 71-year-old former diplomat will
\nbecome Malaysia's king this week under the country's unique
\nrotating monarchy, diminished in recent years by rows with the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Tuanku Jaafar Tuanku Abdul Rahman takes over tomorrow as the
\n10th yang di-pertuan agong, or supreme sovereign, since the
\nconstitutional monarchy began in 1957 with Malaysia's
\nindependence from Britain.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's nine hereditary sultans take turns being king every
\nfive years. With the retirement of the current king, Sultan Azlan
\nShah, today, a cycle has been completed. Jaafar's father, Abdul
\nRahman Mohamad, was the first of the rotating kings.<\/p>\n
After graduating with a law degree from Nottingham University
\nin Britain, Jaafar returned to Malaysia to serve in the British-
\nrun civil service.<\/p>\n
He was appointed the charge d'affairs in the Malaysian Embassy
\nin Washington after independence. He moved to the Malaysian
\nMission at the United Nations and later became deputy high
\ncommissioner in Britain.<\/p>\n
Jaafar was Malaysia's ambassador to Egypt and later Japan
\nbefore returning home to become sultan of Malaysia's southeastern
\nstate of Negri Sembilan in 1967.<\/p>\n
He succeeds Azlan Shah, whose silver mane of hair,
\ndistinguished good looks and impeccable dress made him one of the
\nmost recognizable figures in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
At a dinner in his honor on Saturday night, Azlan Shah urged
\nMalaysians to work towards racial understanding and strengthen
\nnational unity, a theme he stressed during his five-year term.<\/p>\n
The sultans are the idealization of Moslem Malays, who make up
\nunder half of Malaysia's population of 19 million people. The
\nremainder consist of ethnic Chinese and Indians and tribal
\ngroups.<\/p>\n
The rulers are also the guardians of Islam, the official
\nreligion in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad praised Azlan Shah for
\npresiding over Malaysia's fast development in the past five
\nyears, during which the economy grew more than eight percent a
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Mahathir said that under Azlan Shah, Malaysia's international
\nprofile had been significantly raised, the country taking strong
\npositions on issues relating to the environment, international
\ntrade, human rights and the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.<\/p>\n
But those achievements really belong to Mahathir.<\/p>\n
The power of the monarchy is largely ceremonial in Malaysia,
\nand the king rarely comments on political issues, foreign or
\ndomestic.<\/p>",
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