Malaysia:King resigns, gov’t hopes to name new one soon

In the wake of abdication of Malaysian King, the government hopes the new king will be elected soon, the prime minister said on Monday.

Speaking to the reporters in Terengganu, a northeastern Malaysian state, Mahathir Mohamad said the government accepts the decision of King Muhammad V to step down.

He stated that it is in accordance with the constitution.

“Our government hopes that the new king will be elected as soon as possible,” said Mahathir.

He also said the Conference of Rulers, a council comprising sultans of the nine Malay states and governors of four other states, held a special meeting on Monday to discuss a date for electing the new king.

King resigns in historic first

The Country's National Palace announced on Sunday that King Muhammad V abdicated the crown after two years on the throne before completing five-year tenure.

His resignation marks the first time a king has stepped down since the country's independence.

The palace didn’t give any reason for king's resignation, however, the move came amid rumors that he was married to Oksana Voyevodina, Russia’s beauty queen in 2015.

In Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy system, the king is elected among the nine sultans of the nine Malaysian states in a rotational basis every five years.

The deputy king, the sultan of Perak state, Nazrin Shah will become the head of state until a new king is chosen.