AS the next in line to be the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sutan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has expressed his readiness to fulfil his national duties.

“It is not a promotion. It is a responsibility I am prepared to undertake on behalf of my brother rulers,” he said during an exclusive interview with Bernama.

He emphasised that his top priority would always be the welfare of the people.

“The rakyat will always come first,” he said, declining to elaborate.

The rulers are expected to choose the next king on October 27 under a unique election system, but they are likely to uphold the rotation system of electing the new Agog from among the nine brother rulers.

The five-year reign of the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang will end in January.

Sultan Ibrahim was proclaimed the ruler of Johor in January 2010. – Bernama, September 22, 2023.