Kedah Sultan to be King again

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, will serve as the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong for five years from Dec 13, becoming the only ruler to serve as the King of Malaysia for a second time.

The special meeting of the Conference of Rulers which elected Sultan Abdul Halim, 83, yesterday also elected the Sultan of Kelantan, Sultan Muhammad V, as the next Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, according a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office. The Kedah Ruler had served as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from Sept 21, 1970, to Sept 20, 1975.

Sultan Abdul Halim, who is now Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, will succeed Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, the Sultan of Terengganu who completes his term of office as the 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong in December. The elections were held in accordance with the Third Schedule of the Federal Constitution at the special meeting of the Conference of Rulers held at Istana Negara.

The meeting was chaired by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, and attended by all the Malay Rulers except the Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah. Sultan Abdul Halim, who was born on Nov 28, 1927, at Istana Anak Bukit in Alor Setar, ascended the Kedah throne on July 14, 1958, following the death of his father, Sultan Badlishah.

He graduated from Wadham College, University of Oxford, in Britain, with a degree in social science and public administration. He joined the Kedah Civil Service in the 1950s.

Meanwhile, 42-year-old Sultan Muhammad V was proclaimed the 29th Sultan of Kelantan on Sept 13 last year. The Sultan, who is chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, was born in Kota Baru on Oct 6, 1969. 

- Bernama.