Malaysia's new king to be elected on Jan. 24

By Omer Faruk Yildiz

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AA) - Heads of Malaysia’s nine royal houses will convene two weeks later to elect a new king after the resignation of Muhammad V, an official said on Monday.

Datuk Seri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal, announced that the Conference of Rulers set Jan. 24 as the date to pick Malaysia's supreme ruler during their meeting on Monday morning in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

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

The Conference of Rulers consists of sultans of the nine royal houses, who rule their own states, and governors of four other states. The governors aren’t entitled to participate in the meetings for election and removal of the King.

- King resigns in historic first

The country's National Palace announced on Sunday that 49-year-old King Muhammad V abdicated the crown after two years on the throne before completing a five-year tenure.

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

The palace didn’t give a reason for the king's resignation. However, the move came amid rumors that he married Russian beauty queen Oksana Voyevodina, who won Miss Moscow 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, Sultan of Perak State Nazrin Shah, will become the head of state until a new king is chosen.