-Malaysia's king has thrown his weight behind the new government's bid to slash massive debts inherited from the corruption-plagued old regime by taking a 10 per cent pay cut, royal officials said.
Sultan Muhammad V offered to reduce his salary after being touched by members of the public contributing out of their own pockets to a government fund to cut the debt, they said.
An alliance headed by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad won a surprise election victory last month, ousting the scandal-mired coalition that had ruled the country for six decades.
The new government says the country has debts of over one trillion ringgit ($250 billion) after years of misrule by an administration headed by ex-leader Najib Razak, who is accused of having stolen vast sums of public money while in office.
Najib denies any wrongdoing.
The royal palace said late Monday that the king -- a relatively youthful monarch at 48 -- would be taking the cut from the money granted to him by the government until the end of his term in 2021, but did not say how much he earned.
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The current king, known for his fondness for four-wheel driving and other extreme sports, has been on the throne since late 2016.
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, with an unique arrangement where the throne of the Muslim-majority nation changes hands every five years between rulers of the nine Malaysian states headed by centuries-old Islamic royalty.
Malaysians have so far contributed more than 56 million ringgit to the official fund set up to pay off the nation's debts.
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