New Malaysian king takes office this week

New Malaysian king takes office this week

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): A 71-year-old former diplomat will become Malaysia's king this week under the country's unique rotating monarchy, diminished in recent years by rows with the government.

Tuanku Jaafar Tuanku Abdul Rahman takes over tomorrow as the 10th yang di-pertuan agong, or supreme sovereign, since the constitutional monarchy began in 1957 with Malaysia's independence from Britain.

Malaysia's nine hereditary sultans take turns being king every five years. With the retirement of the current king, Sultan Azlan Shah, today, a cycle has been completed. Jaafar's father, Abdul Rahman Mohamad, was the first of the rotating kings.

After graduating with a law degree from Nottingham University in Britain, Jaafar returned to Malaysia to serve in the British- run civil service.

He was appointed the charge d'affairs in the Malaysian Embassy in Washington after independence. He moved to the Malaysian Mission at the United Nations and later became deputy high commissioner in Britain.

Jaafar was Malaysia's ambassador to Egypt and later Japan before returning home to become sultan of Malaysia's southeastern state of Negri Sembilan in 1967.

He succeeds Azlan Shah, whose silver mane of hair, distinguished good looks and impeccable dress made him one of the most recognizable figures in Malaysia.

At a dinner in his honor on Saturday night, Azlan Shah urged Malaysians to work towards racial understanding and strengthen national unity, a theme he stressed during his five-year term.

The sultans are the idealization of Moslem Malays, who make up under half of Malaysia's population of 19 million people. The remainder consist of ethnic Chinese and Indians and tribal groups.

The rulers are also the guardians of Islam, the official religion in Malaysia.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad praised Azlan Shah for presiding over Malaysia's fast development in the past five years, during which the economy grew more than eight percent a year.

Mahathir said that under Azlan Shah, Malaysia's international profile had been significantly raised, the country taking strong positions on issues relating to the environment, international trade, human rights and the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

But those achievements really belong to Mahathir.

The power of the monarchy is largely ceremonial in Malaysia, and the king rarely comments on political issues, foreign or domestic.