KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, has been elected the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, retained his position as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, announced in a statement today.
He said the Conference of Rulers declared, after its special meeting today at Istana Negara, that Sultan Abdullah has been elected as the new King for a five-year reign beginning Jan 31.
He also said that Sultan Nazrin Shah would assume the position of Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the same term, Bernama reported.
The election of the new King was held following the unprecedented resignation of Sultan Muhammad V, the Sultan of Kelantan, as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 6.
Sultan Abdullah, who turns 60 this year, is a well-known personality in the country’s sporting arena, particularly in football.
He is currently a council member of the Asean Football Federation (AFF), a member of the FIFA executive committee and had also served as president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) between 2014 and 2017.
He previously led the Pahang Royal Polo team at an international tournament at the Windsor Polo Club in England, and also participated in competitions in Singapore, the United States, Argentina, Spain, Belgium and the Philippines.
Sultan Abdullah, the fourth child and eldest prince of Sultan Ahmad Shah and the late Tengku Ampuan Afzan Tengku Muhammad, was born on July 30, 1959, at Istana Mangga Tunggal in Pekan, Pahang.
He studied at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom for a year in 1978, where he was made a Second Lieutenant and commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1980.
He was also the captain of the Malaysian Royal Cavalry Corps and, on May 1, 1999, he was appointed as Lieutenant Colonel of the 505 Territorial Army Regiment and subsequently achieved the rank of Colonel of the 505 Territorial Army Regiment on June 1, 2000.
In addition to his military training, Sultan Abdullah also studied at Aldenham School, Elstree in Hertfordshire, UK and Davies College in London (1975-1977), and at the Worchester & Queen Elizabeth College in the UK (1980 - 1981) where he received his Diploma in International Relations and Diplomacy.
At age 20, Sultan Abdullah was appointed the Regent of Pahang on April 28, 1979, for five years when his father was appointed the seventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
He was reappointed to the same position on Dec 8, 2016, until Jan 11 this year when the Pahang Royal Council proclaimed him the sixth Sultan of Pahang.
Sultan Abdullah has been married to Her Royal Highness Tengku Puan Pahang Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Almarhum Almutawakkil Alallah Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj since March 6, 1986.
They have four princes and five princesses.
