The Sultan of Pahang, Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has been elected as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

The election was done on Jan. 24, at a special meeting of the Conference of Rulers, consisting of eight of the Malaysian royal heads of state.

The Star reported that only the previous king, Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan, who had resigned, was not in attendance at the meeting.

The meeting began at 11.15pm at the Istana Negara, the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and ended by 12.45pm.

It was chaired by the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin.

How does the election 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, the candidacy will move down to the second sultan on the “election list”, should the Sultan meet any of the following conditions as listed by 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”.

The same outcome also applies if the Sultan, during the election process, fails to secure a majority of five votes among his fellow rulers.

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.

New King of Malaysia was Crown Prince of Pahang until Jan. 15

Perhaps the most important thing to note is that the newly-elected Yang di-Pertuan Agong was, until Jan. 15, the Crown Prince of Pahang, Channel NewsAsia reported, whereupon he was promoted to succeed his 88-year-old father, Sultan Ahmad Shah.

This is because Sultan Ahmad Shah is reportedly ill at the age of 88, according to FMT, which is a potential condition in being deemed ineligible to be king.

It also meant that there was a chance the candidacy could move on to the Sultan of Johor instead.

On Jan. 11 however, the Pahang Royal Council convened to formulate a proposal in appointing the Crown Prince as the Sultan of Pahang.

CNA reported that the Royal Council subsequently agreed to the proposal unanimously.

What is the role of the new king?

The role of the King is mostly a ceremonial one.

The scope of his powers include being the country's head of Islam and agreeing to the appointments of various senior government roles including that of prime minister.

The new king will be sworn in on Jan. 31.

What happened in the lead-up to the election:

Top image collage from Babu Dayanand Facebook and Wikipedia