New Delhi:

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim paid tributes to his “true friend” Dr Manmohan Singh, former two-time Prime Minister who died at the age of 92. Calling Dr Singh the “midwife of India’s emergence”, Mr Ibrahim said the praise that is poured upon the former PM is “truly well-deserved”.

“The weight of grief bears down on me at the news of the passing of my honoured and cherished friend: Dr Manmohan Singh. Obituaries, essays and books a plenty there will surely be about this great man, celebrating him as the architect of India’s economic reforms. As Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh was the midwife of India’s emergence as one of the world’s economic giants,” Mr Ibrahim wrote in a post on X.

According to Mr Ibrahim, Dr Singh was “slightly awkward” as a politician but “undeniably upright, steadfast and resolute” as a statesman.

Also Read | Not Health, Manmohan Singh Asked About This After 10-Hour Heart Surgery

He also shared Dr Singh’s ‘act of kindness’ towards him during his incarceration years.

“Not many people know this, and it is time that I share it with Malaysians: during the years of my incarceration, he extended a kindness that he didn’t have to – one that was neither politically expedient nor, as one can imagine, appreciated by the Malaysian government at that time. Yet, true to his character, he did it anyway. He offered scholarships for my children, particularly my son, Ihsan. Although I had declined the gracious offer, such a gesture undoubtedly showed his extraordinary humanity and generosity, demonstrative, as the Bard would have it, of a man so full of “the milk of human kindness”,” he said.

“In those dark days, as I navigated the labyrinth of imprisonment, he stood by me as a true friend. Such acts of quiet magnanimity defined him, and they will remain etched in my heart forever. Goodbye, my mitra, my bhai, Manmohan,” the Malaysian PM added.

Also Read | Why Manmohan Singh Always Wore A Blue Turban

The weight of grief bears down on me at the news of the passing of my honoured and cherished friend: Dr Manmohan Singh.

Obituaries, essays and books a plenty there will surely be about this great man, celebrating him as the architect of India’s economic reforms. As Prime… pic.twitter.com/44bA3s7vst

— Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) December 27, 2024

Manmohan Singh died due to age-related medical complications. He had been in poor health for the last few months. His remains will be brought to his residence in Delhi for the public to offer their condolences. The funeral will be held at 9:30 am on Saturday. The former Prime Minister’s last rites will be conducted with full state honours. A seven-day state mourning will be observed throughout the country as a mark of respect to Dr Singh. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast across India.

Malaysia’s Queen Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah hugs her brother Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor after the election for the next Malaysian king at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur on October 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Malaysia’s royalty on Friday chose an influential sultan from the southern state of Johor to be the country’s next king.

The position is largely ceremonial but oversees major appointments such as the Prime Minister and serves as the head of Islam in the Muslim-majority country and the commander-in-chief of its armed forces.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, with a unique arrangement where the throne changes hands every five years between rulers of the nine Malaysian states headed by centuries-old Islamic royalty.

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar was appointed the country’s 17th king after a conference of rulers in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

The 64-year-old will be sworn in after the incumbent king’s term expires on January 31 next year, before a coronation ceremony several months later.

The system has been in place since independence from Britain in 1957. The outgoing king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, ascended the throne in 2019.

Ibrahim hails from the wealthy and powerful Johor royal family, the head of which commands its private army.

He has a close relationship with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and often comments on Malaysian politics.

He is a hands-on monarch and a fully trained army, navy and air force officer who studied abroad in the United States.

The king also wields the power to pardon convicted figures. In 2018 Sultan Muhammad V, one of Ibrahim’s predecessors, pardoned Anwar, who had served a jail sentence for sodomy.

The role of the king in Malaysia is accorded considerable prestige, particularly among the country’s Malay Muslim majority. Criticism deemed to incite contempt of the king can attract a jail term.

The last time a Johor sultan became king was 39 years ago when Ibrahim’s father, Sultan Iskandar was proclaimed as Malaysia’s eighth king in 1984.