Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will meet the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar on Thursday, Jan. 10.

According to Free Malaysia Today, the meeting comes amidst speculation that Johor's Sultan is a potential successor to becoming the next Yang di-Pertuan Agong, also known as "King of Kings".

It will be the first meeting between both parties since the 14th Malaysian general election in May 2018.

However, no details have been released yet about what the meeting will discuss.

Historically, it has been known that both parties do not see eye to eye.

Actions of the previous king supposedly stirred controversy

According to Today, the marriage of Sultan Muhammad V -- the monarch of Kelantan state and the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, to Russian beauty queen Oksana Voevodina, had supposedly stirred some controversy.

The marriage had taken place in November 2018, when the ex-king was on two months of medical leave to recuperate after treatment.

The Malaysian Insight reported that "more than eyebrows" had been raised around the country, especially in the Sultan's home state of Kelantan which is governed by the conservative Islamist party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).

More importantly, MI cited a courtier, from among the nine palaces of the Malay rulers, who claimed that the marriage was perceived as "the straw that broke the camel’s back" of the five other Malay rulers.

Only two rulers defended the ex-king -- the sultans of Selangor and Johor.

MI added that news of the ex-king having lost the majority support of the sultans was conveyed to him directly on the night of Jan. 5, during a private dinner with the monarch of Perlis at the Shangri-La hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Sultan Muhammad V resigned from his position on Jan. 6, the following day.

So why is Mahathir meeting the Johor Sultan?

Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy is unique in that instead of being a hereditary system, the post of 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 king must be chosen by the sultans by way of election, with a majority of five votes, according to The Star.

FMT reported that next in line to succeed Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan is Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang, followed by the Sultan of Johor, then Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak, who is also filling in as King in the interim, given his position as Deputy Agong.

FMT added that it is unlikely the Sultan of Pahang will become king due to his ill health.

Moreover, while his son, the crown prince of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah, is carrying out the duties and functions of the Sultan in his stead, he is "unlikely to be appointed the king as he is not the state ruler yet".

As for Johor's Sultan, Today stated that should he fail to secure the votes of at least five sultans, he will be "sidelined".

FMT noted that the Sultan of Johor "has been has been embroiled in several spats with Mahathir over the years".

The powers of the King

According to The Malay Mail, the king has power in the following three areas:

1. The appointment of the prime minister;
2. Withholding consent to a request for dissolution of Parliament;
3. Requisitioning a meeting of the Conference of Rulers concerned solely with the privileges, position, honours or dignities of their Royal Highnesses, and any action at such a meeting.

Today quoted Ooi Kee Beng, executive director of think-tank Penang Institute, who stated that things could get "tricky" if the Sultan of Johor becomes the next King due to his family's history of clashing with Mahathir.

The new Yang di-Pertuan Agong and his deputy will be elected on Jan. 24 and sworn in on Jan. 31.

More details on how the rules of succession work:

Top image collage from Mahathir Mohamad Facebook and Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar Facebook