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Malaysia's new king is billionaire with personal army, fleet of private jets, 300 luxury cars

14:35, February 2

The new king of Malaysia is a billionaire with his own army, a fleet of private jets, and 300 luxury cars, including one donated by Adolf Hitler.

Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, 65, was crowned in a ceremony attended by Malaysia's prime minister, cabinet ministers, and members of the country's nine royal families.

He told the Singapore Straits Times last month that he was determined not to waste five years on the throne as a "puppet king."

He is already raising eyebrows with his display of wealth. Bloomberg describes him as "the motorcycle-riding, Ferrari-driving, Instagram-savvy king."

Sultan Ibrahim—the head of the Johor royal family—will use the title “His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” the equivalent of a king in Malaysia.

His election to the national throne was widely expected, as Malaysia has the world's only rotating monarchy system. Under this system, Malaysia's nine hereditary rulers, known as "sultans," rotate as head of state every five years, Reuters reports.

The new monarch was considered one of the most influential and wealthy people in the country long before accepting the new title.

The Johor family's wealth is estimated at $5.7 billion, according to Bloomberg. Sultan Ibrahim owns just under a quarter of U Mobile, one of Malaysia's largest mobile phone operators, as well as land in Singapore worth $4 million.

The Johor family is the only royal family in Malaysia to have a private army. This condition was granted to Johor to join modern Malaysia after it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1967, ABC News reported.

The king has a collection of private jets and more than 300 luxury vintage cars, including one that belonged to Adolf Hitler. In a 2013 interview published on YouTube in 2017, Sultan Ibrahim said that Hitler was a friend of his great-grandfather. He added that Hitler's car was sent to England and then to Malaysia before being given to his great-grandfather.

Sultan Ibrahim is a motorcycle enthusiast as well, and, according to The Guardian, he rides his Harley-Davidson around Johor.

Although the king's role is largely ceremonial, he has certain parliamentary duties, including the power to appoint the prime minister, as well as to pardon those convicted of crimes.

Under the Sedition Act of 1948, the Malaysian public is prohibited from openly criticizing the country’s king. This rule was particularly important in the late 1980s and 1990s when Sultan Ibrahim's father, the late Sultan of Johor, was accused of murder.


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