KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31: Sultan Ibrahim, the wealthy and outspoken ruler of Malaysia’s southern Johor state, was sworn in as the country’s new king in a ceremony on Wednesday.

Malaysia practices a unique rotational form of monarchy, in which the heads of the country’s nine royal families take turns to be king for a five-year reign.

The monarchy plays a largely ceremonial role but has become more influential in recent years due to prolonged political instability during which the king has wielded rarely used discretionary powers.