It has been widely speculated that Tengku Abdullah, who had been serving as the Regent of Pahang, would succeed his father.
Last night, shouts of “Daulat Tuanku” (“Long Live the Sultan”) were heard towards the end of a three-hour meeting of the Pahang Royal Council yesterday.
That meeting, it is understood, was to seek the council’s consent for Tengku Abdullah to be proclaimed as the Sultan.
Speculation has been rife that Sultan Ahmad Shah, who has been ill for some time, would abdicate.
The proclamation of Tengku Abdullah as sultan paves the way for him to be appointed the next Yang di-Pertuan Agong, following the decision by Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan to step down as King on Jan 6.
Going by the rotation system, the Sultan of Pahang is next in line.
A special meeting of the Conference of Rulers is scheduled to be held on Jan 24 at Istana Negara to elect the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Crown prince of Pahang for 44 years
Tengku Abdullah holds the second longest record as crown prince after the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, who has held the title of Prince of Wales since 1958, Bernama reported.
Tengku Abdullah, born on July 30, 1959, at Istana Mangga Tunggal, Pekan, has been the crown prince of Pahang for nearly 44 years after being officially appointed as the heir to the throne on July 1, 1975, just a day after turning 16.
He assumed the mantle after his father Sultan Ahmad Shah officially became the fifth Sultan of Pahang on May 7, 1974 following the death of his grandfather, Sultan Abu Bakar, two days earlier.
Tengku Abdullah, who is the fourth child and eldest son of Sultan Ahmad Shah and Tengku Afzan Tengku Muhammad, was officially proclaimed as the Tengku Makhota on Oct 23, 1977 at Istana Abu Bakar, Pekan.
The first time Tengku Abdullah took over his father’s duties was on April 28, 1979, for a five-year period when he was only 20, following Sultan Ahmad Shah’s appointment as the 7th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (1979-1984).
The wisdom he showed led to Sultan Ahmad Shah once again appointing him to be the Regent of Pahang on Dec 28, 2016 when his health began to wane.
He furthered his studies in foreign affairs and diplomacy at Queen Elizabeth College, Oxford University, in 1981.
While in London, he pursued military studies and training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, from 1979 to 1980 and was accredited as second lieutenant by Queen Elizabeth II.
It was due to his experience in sports that Tengku Abdullah was elected as Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president from 2013 to 2017. He is still an executive committee member of world governing body FIFA. He was appointed to the post in 2015 to fill the Asian quota.
He has four princes and five princesses.