Kuala Lumpur - A new ruler for the state of Negeri Sembilan was picked yesterday, after a secret meeting of four powerful state chieftains.
They chose Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, 60, to succeed Tuanku Jaafar Tuanku Abdul Rahman, 86, who died last Saturday after complaining of dizziness and chest pains.
Tuanku Muhriz was appointed to the position over three of Tuanku Jaafar`s children, following the meeting of the four Undangs, or state elders, in a unique selection method.
Tuanku Muhriz`s father, Tuanku Munawir Tuanku Abdul Rahman, was the former sultan of Negeri Sembilan. But when he died in 1967, the teenage Tuanku Muhriz was passed over for the title as he was deemed too young, and Tuanku Jaafar was chosen to succeed him instead.
A businessman and a director of Bangkok Bank, Tuanku Muhriz is married, with three children.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi called for national and state flags to be flown at half mast when Tuanku Jaafar was buried yesterday.
The late king served as Malaysia`s 10th constitutional monarch between 1994 and 1999, under a system that allows nine hereditary state rulers to take turns being king for a five-year term. Four other states are not headed by monarchs.
While Malaysia`s monarchy has a largely ceremonial role, it commands public respect, particularly among the ethnic Malay Muslim majority, who regard the king as the supreme upholder of Malay tradition and the symbolic head of Islam.
Earlier this year, Tuanku Jaafar made headlines in the first trial involving a Malaysian monarch following a 1993 constitutional amendment that dissolved the immunity of state rulers from criminal and civil lawsuits. A special court ordered him to settle the US$1 million (S$1.4 million) he owed to a bank in a landmark verdict.
Source: straitstimes.com (December 30th, 2008)
They chose Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, 60, to succeed Tuanku Jaafar Tuanku Abdul Rahman, 86, who died last Saturday after complaining of dizziness and chest pains.
Tuanku Muhriz was appointed to the position over three of Tuanku Jaafar`s children, following the meeting of the four Undangs, or state elders, in a unique selection method.
Tuanku Muhriz`s father, Tuanku Munawir Tuanku Abdul Rahman, was the former sultan of Negeri Sembilan. But when he died in 1967, the teenage Tuanku Muhriz was passed over for the title as he was deemed too young, and Tuanku Jaafar was chosen to succeed him instead.
A businessman and a director of Bangkok Bank, Tuanku Muhriz is married, with three children.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi called for national and state flags to be flown at half mast when Tuanku Jaafar was buried yesterday.
The late king served as Malaysia`s 10th constitutional monarch between 1994 and 1999, under a system that allows nine hereditary state rulers to take turns being king for a five-year term. Four other states are not headed by monarchs.
While Malaysia`s monarchy has a largely ceremonial role, it commands public respect, particularly among the ethnic Malay Muslim majority, who regard the king as the supreme upholder of Malay tradition and the symbolic head of Islam.
Earlier this year, Tuanku Jaafar made headlines in the first trial involving a Malaysian monarch following a 1993 constitutional amendment that dissolved the immunity of state rulers from criminal and civil lawsuits. A special court ordered him to settle the US$1 million (S$1.4 million) he owed to a bank in a landmark verdict.
Source: straitstimes.com (December 30th, 2008)
