Malaysia installs new king after historic abdication

Agencies

January 31, 2019

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 31: Malaysia on Thursday installed a new king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, after the last monarch abdicated in a historic first following his reported marriage to a Russian ex-beauty queen.

In a ceremony steeped in pomp and centuries of tradition, the sports-loving sultan, dressed in aqua blue formal wear, took the oath of office at the national palace in Kuala Lumpur.

The ceremony was televised nationally and attended by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and hundreds of guests decked out in Islamic finery.

Before being sworn in at the palace, the 59-year-old, who is also the ceremonial ruler of central Pahang state, was given a welcome at the national parliament and inspected a guard of honour.

His predecessor, Sultan Muhammad V, stepped aside this month following just two years on the throne after he went on medical leave. Reports then surfaced he had married a former Miss Moscow.

No official reason was given for his abdication, but it was the first time a king had stepped aside before the end of his term in the Muslim-majority country.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with a unique arrangement where the national throne changes hands every five years between royal rulers of the country's nine states.

Pahang was next in line for the throne after Muhammad V stepped down, and Sultan Abdullah was formally chosen as the country's 16th king by Malaysia's royal families last week.

The new king is an avid athlete who holds a string of positions on sporting bodies.

He is on the council of world football governing body FIFA, president of the Asian Hockey Association, and used to be the head of the Football Association of Malaysia.

After attending school in Malaysia, the keen polo player went on to study in Britain where he attended the Sandhurst military academy, according to a biography published on official news agency Bernama.

Despite the merely ceremonial role, Malaysia's Islamic royalty command great respect, especially from Muslim Malays, the country's majority group, and criticising them is strictly forbidden.

Portraits of the king and queen adorn government buildings throughout the country. The king is also the symbolic head of Islam in the nation, as well as the nominal chief of the military.

Malaysia's sultans trace a lineage back to the 15th century. The king is referred to as Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or "He Who Is Made Lord".

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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