Malaysian royals to vote for new king

A new Malaysian king will be elected and sworn in this month, royal officials said yesterday, after Sultan Muhammad V abdicated in a historic first following his reported marriage to a Russian former beauty queen.

The king stepped aside Sunday following intense speculation about his future after reports surfaced in recent weeks that he had taken medical leave, and then wed the former Miss Moscow.

As the country reacted with shock to the news, Malaysia's Islamic royal families met at the national palace to push ahead with the task of picking a king to take over from Muhammad V, 49, who gave up the throne after just two years.

Keeper of the Ruler's Seal, Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, said after the meeting that a new king and his deputy would be elected on January 24 and installed on January 31.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who had a tense relationship with the royals during his first stint as premier from 1981 to 2003 as he sought to curb their powers, said the government accepted Muhammad V's abdication, official news agency Bernama reported.