Former Malaysia king dies aged 77
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23, 2010 (AFP) - The sultan of Malaysia's Johor
state Iskandar Ismail, who served as the nation's king for five years,
has died aged 77, state media reported. Abdul Ghani Othman, chief
minister of the southern state, announced the sultan's death late Friday
after he was admitted to a local hospital the day before for an
unspecified illness, state news agency Bernama said."The sultan of Johor
was very much respected and loved," Abdul Ghani said, reading a
statement on TV, according to Bernama.
He said the sultan died at 7:15 pm (1115 GMT).A senior aide to the
chief minister confirmed the sultan's death and that the sultan's eldest
son, Tunku Ibrahim Ismail, had been appointed regent. He is expected to
be named as sultan shortly.Sultan Iskandar was born in 1932 and educated
in Australia and Britain before joining the state civil service.
He took over as sultan of Johor in 1981, following the death of his
father and served as Malaysia's king from 1984 to 1989. Malaysia has a
rotational monarchical system in which each state sultan takes turns to
serve for five years as king. Local papers were filled with tributes to
Sultan Iskandar, calling him a "selfless ruler at heart" and "a ruler
close to his subjects." Premier Najib Razak cut short a state visit to
India, returning to Malaysia early Saturday for the Sultan's funeral,
Bernama reported.
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