Malaysia crowns its new Supreme Head

Supreme Head (King) of Malaysia Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has been crowned in the official monarch residence in Kuala Lumpur, the BERNAMA Malaysian National News Agency reported on Tuesday.

In his throne speech, the crowned king promised to make every effort to strengthen the unity of all Malaysian subjects irrespective of their ethnic or religious background. "I will put [the well-being] of people above everything else," the monarch underlined.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad pledged loyalty to the new king. "I assure Your Majesty that the [Malaysian] government will never stop at what’s been achieved," he said.

On January 31, Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was sworn as the Malaysian monarch, succeeding Sultan Muhammad V, who had abdicated. The Malaysian media was pointing to the fact that the previous king was pressured to leave the throne by the Conference of Rulers who opposed his marriage with Russian model Oksana Voevodina.