During the 263rd (Special) Meeting of the Conference of Rulers in October last year, the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar was elected as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, while Sultan Nazrin was re-elected as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a five-year term starting today.
Both Sultan Ibrahim and Sultan Nazrin Shah took their oath and signed the instrument of office at Istana Negara today, signalling their unwavering dedication to serving the nation.
Sultan Nazrin Shah has been fulfilling the responsibilities of Deputy King with utmost diligence, and his reappointment to this role is a testament to his outstanding performance.
His Royal Highness had served as the Deputy King when Sultan Muhammad V ascended the federal throne as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2016 and retained the role during Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Mustafa Billah Shah's reign as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong which began in 2019, further highlighting his invaluable contribution to the royal institution.
The Sultan was born Raja Nazrin Shah on Nov 27, 1956, in Georgetown, Penang and became the Crown Prince of Perak on April 15, 1987.
Upon the demise of his father, Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah, on May 28 2014, the Dewan Negara Perak (Council of State) proclaimed Raja Nazrin Shah as the 35th Sultan of Perak, styled as Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.
His enthronement, almost a year later, took place on 6 May 2015.
Besides his constitutional duties in Malaysia, Sultan Nazrin Shah has served as co-chair of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing 2015. He was Malaysia's Special Envoy for Interfaith and Inter-civilisational Dialogue at the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC).
At home, His Royal Highness is the Chancellor of the Universiti Malaya. He is also the Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment of Royal Engineers and of the Royal Medical Corps in the Malaysian Armed Forces.
Sultan Nazrin Shah is an Honorary Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, and of Magdalene College and St. Edmund's College, both Cambridge.
He is a Trustee of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford; Royal Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Defense and Security; Royal Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Strategic and International Studies; Royal Fellow of the Institute of Public Security of Malaysia; Royal Patron of the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations of Malaysia; and Royal Patron (formerly, Financial Ambassador) of the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre.
His Royal Highness received his early education at Jalan Kuantan Primary School, and thereafter at St. John's Institution, both in Kuala Lumpur.
He subsequently went on to finish schooling at The Leys School, Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. He then read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford.
In addition to his BA degree from Oxford, the Sultan holds a PhD in Political Economy and Government, from Harvard University.
Sultan Nazrin Shah is married to Tuanku Zara Salim. They have a son, Raja Azlan Muzzaffar Shah and a daughter Raja Nazira Safya.
-- BERNAMA
