Tuanku Ja'afar, 86, former king of Malaysia

TUANKU JA'AFAR (S.THINAKARAN/AFP/Getty Images)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Tuanku Ja'afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a royal state ruler who became Malaysia's king for five years under the country's unique monarchal system, has died. He was 86.

King Tuanku Ja'afar, the constitutional head of central Negri Sembilan state, was taken to a hospital Saturday after complaining of a headache and dizziness, said State Secretary Norzam Nor. He died in an intensive care unit several hours later.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called for national and state flags to be flown at half staff when King Tuanku Ja'afar is buried today.

King Tuanku Ja'afar took over the state throne in 1967 and eventually served as Malaysia's 10th constitutional monarch between 1994 and 1999 under a system that allows nine hereditary state rulers to take turns being king for a five-year term.

Malaysia's monarchy has a largely ceremonial role, but it commands public respect, particularly among the ethnic Malay Muslim majority, who regard the king as the supreme upholder of Malay tradition and the symbolic head of Islam.

Earlier this year, King Tuanku Ja'afar made headlines in the first trial involving a Malaysian monarch since a 1993 constitutional amendment dissolved the immunity of state rulers from criminal and civil lawsuits.

A special court ordered King Tuanku Ja'afar to settle $1 million that he owed to a bank in a landmark verdict that ended a centuries-old tradition shielding royal rulers from legal prosecution.

King Tuanku Ja'afar had a passion for sports, particularly cricket. His family was nicknamed the "royal family of sports" and held top posts in prominent sports associations.

He leaves his wife and six children.