The resignation of Sultan Muhammad V, the monarch of Kelantan state and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, on Jan. 6, has been unprecedented in that it was the first time a Malaysian monarch has done so in the country's history.

Under the Malaysian constitutional monarchy, the nine royal heads of states in Malaysia will have to convene to elect the next Malaysian king.

According to The Straits Times (ST), the election must take place within the next four weeks and will be conducted by the Conference of Rulers.

The Conference will be attended by the nine Malaysian royal heads of state, along with the governors of Melaka, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak, although the governors will not have voting rights and cannot be present for the election itself.

In the meantime, Deputy Agong Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak will act as King in the interim.

How does the succession work?

Malaysia's constitutional monarchy is unique in that instead of being a hereditary system, the post of Head of State or the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is rotated among the nine hereditary Malay rulers, according to The Borneo Post.

However, the Malaysian constitution also stipulates that the succeeding Head of State must be chosen by the Conference of Rulers by way of election, with a majority of five votes, according to The Star.

According to The Malay Mail, there is an "election list" which is arranged according to the order of the rotating system.

The position of Yang di-Pertuan Agong will thus be offered to the sultan at the top of the "election list".

However, there are also certain conditions that can lead to the next ruler being deemed ineligible to hold the office of the King.

They are, according to the New Straits Times (NST):

• The succeeding ruler being a minor,
• The succeeding ruler notifying that he does not wish to be elected,
• The Conference of Rulers resolving by secret ballot that the succeeding ruler is unfit "by reason of infirmity of mind or body, or for any other cause to exercise the functions of a king."

As such, should the candidate fail to get a majority of five votes, or fulfil any of the aforementioned conditions, or decline the position after being elected, the candidacy will then move down to the second sultan on the "election list".

Pahang or Johor?

Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported that next in line to succeed Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan is Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang, followed by Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johor.

However, FMT added that Sultan Ahmad Shah has not been "in the best of health", with Pahang crown prince Tengku Abdullah carrying out the requisite duties in his stead.

This means the Sultan of Johor could also be next in line to succeed the throne should the Sultan of Pahang be deemed ineligible on grounds of health, or fail to secure enough votes if his name is put up.

However, it should be noted that in 2016, the Johor Sultan said he had turned down an offer to be the next Malaysian king as he wanted to "strictly adhere to the rotation system set by the Conference of Rulers."

There was no official statement in 2016 from the Conference nor the Malaysian government about the Johor Sultan being offered the throne.

Federal Government has no say in the matter

The Star added that in this matter, the Malay rulers have full say over the matter of electing the next King of Malaysia.

The Star quoted Article 38 (6) of the Malaysian Constitution where:

"the members of the Conference of Rulers may act in their discretion in any proceedings relating to the following functions, that is to say –

(a) the election or removal from office of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the election of the Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong;

(b) the advising on any appointment".

According to ST, once the entire process is complete, the Prime Minister and Parliament will be notified , with the Prime Minister in turn informing the Malaysian public, via press release, about the new king.

Top image collage from Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar Facebook and Wikipedia