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.