Malaysia’s royal family Friday elected Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar as the 17th king, locally called Agong, for a term of five years. His term will begin on Jan. 31 next year, according to a statement from royal family. Iskandar succeeds Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. He was serving as Sultan of Johor province in southern Malaysia. The announcement came after Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin chaired the 263rd meeting of the Conference of Rulers to elect the next king and his deputy. Malaysia’s royal family has nine rulers who take the top position in turns, according to a system agreed to in 1957 when Malaya secured independence from British rule.