Malaysian king crowned for a second time

Rarely does a king ever get the opportunity to be crowned twice in his life. But under Malaysias unique electoral monarchy, Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah on Tuesday ascended the throne for a second time.Malaysias chief justice installed Sultan Abdul Halim as the new king for a five-year term in a traditional ceremony at the State Palace in Kuala Lumpur. He was ushered to the dais under a royal spear guard and the coronation was announced with a 21-gun salute.Footage from Malaysian state media showed the new king, clad in a yellow traditional Malay costume - a symbol of royalty - taking an oath of office and signing a letter of appointment witnessed by parliamentary officials.The countrys nine sultans, who preside over states in peninsular Malaysia, take turns as monarch. Meeting as the Conference of Rulers every five years, they elect by secret ballot one of their brethren to be Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which literally means He who is made Lord, but is usually translated as Supreme Ruler.Sultan Abdul Halim, who presides over the northern state of Kedah, took the throne for the first time in 1970. The 84-year-old is the first Malaysian king to be elected twice to the job, and believed to be the first in the world.Cambodia is the only other country with an elected monarch. Candidates of royal blood are chosen to be king for a life term by its Royal council of the Throne.In Malaysias constitutional monarchy, the kings role is largely ceremonial.