The Sultan of the Malaysian state of Pahang, Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has been named the 16^th king of the Southeast Asian nation.

The Sultan of Pahang state, Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has become the new king of Malaysia (Photo: AP)

The ruler of Perak state, Nazrin Shah, will serve as his deputy, according to the results of a meeting of the Conference of Rulers of Malaysia on January 24.

The two will be sworn in at a ceremony on 31 January.

Sultan Abdullah, 59, is also a council member of the ASEAN Football Federation and the International Federation of Association Football. He used to be head of the Football Association of Malaysia.

The move comes following the shock abdication of Sultan Muhammad V earlier this month.

Before that, the 15th king had been on leave for two months. During this time, Sultan of Perak state Nazrin Shah, also the vice king, served as acting king of Malaysia. Nazrin Shah will continue to serve as acting king until the new king comes to the throne.

The monarch of Malaysia is selected from the nine sultans ruling nine states in the country and will serve in this position for a five-year term.

(Source: VNA)