Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was admitted to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday due to fatigue, though his office insisted the world’s longest-serving monarch was in “good health”.
The sultan is in Kuala Lumpur with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders, who on Tuesday met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and dignitaries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
A Malaysian government source told AFP the sultan “was hospitalised in between the ASEAN-GCC and ASEAN-GCC-China summit” for fatigue.
A statement from the Brunei prime minister’s office — a position held by the sultan — said he was in “good health”.
“He has been feeling tired and on the advice of the host’s health experts, has decided to rest for a few days at the National Heart Institute,” it said.
Asked earlier at a news conference whether the sultan had been hospitalised, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said: “Well he’s feeling a bit tired, so he’s resting at the (National Heart Institute).”
The hospital is the designated one for VIPs during the ASEAN summit, AFP’s source said.
The National Heart Institute said it could not comment.
The 78-year-old sultan touched down in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, according to footage from Malaysia’s national news agency.
He was the last leader to arrive at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) on Monday morning for the 46th ASEAN summit, but appeared in good spirits, smiling and stopping for a prolonged chat before heading into the venue with Anwar.
The busy schedule saw the leaders address US tariffs, the Myanmar conflict, and East Timor’s application to join the bloc among other topics.
After a quick costume change into matching traditional batik shirts, the leaders returned to the KLCC for a lavish gala dinner, joined by Premier Li and dignitaries from the GCC — a regional bloc made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Tuesday saw ASEAN meet first with the GCC in the morning, before the two blocs were joined by China at 3pm local time (0700 GMT).
Footage taken by AFP around midday showed the sultan walking briskly but looking weary, surrounded by his entourage.
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.
