Malaysia's 15th King, Sultan Muhammad V, was inaugurated on Monday in a ceremony steeped in tradition. With the newest Yang di-Pertuan Agong installed, the people of Kelantan have a monarch from their province after a gap of 37 years.
Sultan Muhammad V will adorn the ceremonial throne for the next five years, succeeding Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah of Kedah.
The accession ceremony started with the monarch designate's departure from Istana Negeri in Kelantan which was marked by people gathering in their hundreds along a 14-km stretch to see off the new king.
In Kula Lumpur the new monarch was greeted by Prime Minister Najib Razak and other senior leaders. The 47-year-old new king is the youngest of the Malay Rulers and was chosen for the throne from among the nine ruling Malaysian provincial princes.
The Conference of Rulers elected Muhammad V, whose grandfather was the last Malaysian monarch from Kelantan, as the new king at its 243rd meeting in October. Malaysia follows a system of elected monarchy although the monarch is only the titular head and the elected prime minister leads the government.
The election of British-educated Muhammad involved a flouting of some conventions as he is a bachelor and he succeeded his father only in 2010. Sultan Muhammad married Tengku Zubaidah Tengku Norudin from Pattani, Thailand, in 2004 but the union ended in a divorce later.
Sultan Muhammad V is a devout Muslim who has undergone rigorous religious education, Malay Mail reported.
"We, the mosque goers are close to his majesty whose heart is with the mosque and Islam. It is a well known fact that the sultan spends considerable time in the mosques and religious functions hence it's easy for the people to get close to his majesty," Kelantan's Grand Imam of the Council of the Religion of Islam and Malay Custom (Maik), Muhammad Hana Pizi Abdullah said, the newspaper reported.
While serving as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong since 12 Dec 2011, Muhammad V had spearheaded many social initiatives, the repot said.
