BSS
  31 May 2025, 20:19

Brunei sultan discharged from hospital

Collected photo

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has 
been discharged from hospital and will remain in the Malaysian capital for a 
few more days to rest, his office said on Saturday.

Sultan Hassanal was admitted to hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday due to 
fatigue, though his office had insisted the world's longest-serving monarch 
was in "good health".

"His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah ... praise be to God, is back at the 
Grand Hyatt Hotel after resting a few days at the National Heart Institute, 
Kuala Lumpur," his office said in an Instagram post on Saturday.

"Medical experts have advised His Majesty to continue resting for a few more 
days before departing back to Brunei," it added.

The 78-year-old sultan was in Kuala Lumpur for a summit with other 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders.

A statement from the Brunei prime minister's office -- a position held by the 
sultan -- on Tuesday said the monarch had been feeling tired and that 
Malaysian health experts had advised him to rest for a few days at the 
National Heart Institute.

Sultan Hassanal ascended the throne in 1967.

He is one of the richest people on the planet, and comes from a family that 
has ruled Brunei, a small Muslim nation perched on the north of the tropical 
island of Borneo, for more than 600 years.

His decades ruling Brunei have seen the country gain full independence from 
Britain and living standards soar to among the highest globally.

But his reign has also been marked by controversies including the 
introduction of tough Islamic laws legislating penalties such as severing of 
limbs and death by stoning.