ALOR STAR: Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah was the second oldest monarch in the world, after Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Sultan Abdul Halim, 89, was installed as the Sultan of Kedah in 1958, following the demise of his late father, Sultan Badlishah ibni almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid.
He is just one year shy from celebrating the 60th anniversary of his reign as the Kedah monarch.
According to the United Kingdom-based The Guardian, Queen Elizabeth, who was born in April 1926, is currently the oldest monarch in the world with 64 years in reign.
Among the other monarch and head of states who made it into the list are the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber of Kuwait, Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang, Emir Humaid Rashid Al Nuaimi of Ajman, an emirate in the United Arab Emirates, Emperor Akihito of Japan, Awujale Sikiru Kayode Adetona, king of Ijebuland, a state in Nigeria, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia and King Harald V of Norway.