Malaysia's sultan to visit China, eyes infrastructure support

BEIJING — Malaysia's king Sultan Ibrahim will visit China from Thursday (Sept 19), the first by a Malaysian monarch in a decade, where he will meet President Xi Jinping and likely seek support for projects boosting connectivity to neighbouring Singapore.

The ceremonial ruler from the southern state of Johor, will be accompanied by Malaysia's transport and housing ministers, a statement from the country's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

"His Majesty's visit provides an excellent opportunity for both sides to reaffirm a shared commitment in ensuring that Malaysia-China relations continue to remain forward-looking, dynamic and prosperous," Malaysia's foreign ministry said.

Sultan Ibrahim was installed as the country's 17th king in January, under a unique system of monarchy where the heads of Malaysia's nine royal families take turns to sit on the throne every five years, and are supposed to stay above politics.

But the 65-year-old has indicated he intends to weigh in on the country's political issues and proposed in a media interview before his ascension that Malaysia's state oil firm Petronas and the country's anti-corruption agency report directly to the king.

The last time a Malaysian king visited China was in 2014.

Ibrahim will also meet China's second-ranking official, Premier Li Qiang, Malaysia's foreign ministry said.

Li visited Kuala Lumpur in June and backed Malaysian plans to develop its connectivity through a US$10-billion (S$12.9-billion) rail link to other China-backed railways projects in Laos and Thailand.

Li said that the initiative would realise plans for a proposed Pan-Asia Railway running from Kunming in China to Singapore, presumably through Johor, which is where the outspoken Sultan wants to develop