Under this system, the monarchs of nine Malaysian states take turns to become the head of the state of the country every five years. But in January 2019, Sultan Muhammad V (pictured) became the first ruler in independent Malaysia’s history to abdicate. His decision came after a controversy around his marriage to a Russian. The same year, the constitutionally established Council of Rulers picked Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah as the new ruler.
