Malaysia's King Sultan Muhammad V. has abdicated. "The National Palace announces that His Majesty will abdicate as the 15th King with effect from 6th January," the palace said. For weeks there had been speculation about the future of the king. He resigned while there were rumors of a marriage with a Russian ex-beauty queen.
It is the first time since the independence of Malaysia in 1957 that a king abdicates in the majority Muslim country in Southeast Asia. One reason for the abdication of the 49-year-old called the palace.
The photos of Malaysian King Sultan Muhammad V's wedding with Russian beauty Oksana Voevodina in Moscow have been viral by puzzling Malaysian netizens via social media pic.twitter.com/VzQlsEmb7K
- Kuala Lumpur Reporter (@KL_Reporter) November 24, 2018Muhammad V. had officially resigned since November for medical treatment. On social media and the popular press circulated reports that the king had married on November 22, a former Miss Moscow in Russia. Representatives of the Royal Palace in Malaysia did not comment on this.
"Russia Today" reports on the couple's plans for children
It should be about Oksana Voevodina. The model is to be converted shortly before the wedding with Muhammad V. to Islam, as Russian tabloid media had reported. A friend of the 25-year-old told the "Komsomolskaya Pravda" that the couple should have met at a watch fair in Europe.
In recent days, speculation has continued to grow as Royal Members convened for a special session.
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy. The Islamic kings are redefined every five years after a rotation system. The throne is then handed over alternately to the respective ruler of the nine Malaysian states. These come from centuries-old Islamic royal houses.
The king of Malaysia has a purely ceremonial role, but enjoys great respect in the country. Muhammad V. had been designated the 15th head of Malaysia at the end of 2016.