Coronation held for Malaysian king

Coronation held for Malaysian king

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): Malaysia's 11th king, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, was formally installed on Thursday as the country's new king in a centuries-old ceremony at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur.

The 73-year-old monarch, who is also sultan of Malaysia's wealthy Selangor state, was appointed king in April under Malaysia's unique system, devised after independence from Britain in 1957, to rotate the kingship every five years among the country's nine royal rulers.

Malaysia's king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or Paramount Ruler, is a constitutional monarch with limited powers mainly over Islam and Malay rights.

King Salahuddin and his 27-year-old wife, Siti Aishah, were installed on a golden throne at the palace, in the ceremony attended by the other Malay sultans and aristocrats, government leaders and foreign diplomats.