Johor Sultan takes Dr M to task over Bangsa Johor remark
Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar says he is uniting people of all races while Mahathir Mohamad is causing division, including within the Malay community.
Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said while Mahathir was going around “dividing the people, including the Malays”, he was instead doing his best to unite Malaysians of all races.
Calling Mahathir’s comment “uncalled for” and a reflection of “his complete ignorance of Johor’s history”, Sultan Ibrahim said his great-grandfather Sultan Sir Ibrahim had, in 1920, made the clarion call of a Bangsa Johor that united the various races in Johor under one flag for greater cooperation, harmony and peaceful existence.
“No race or individual was marginalised. He has been proven correct.
“The Bangsa Johor concept was initiated even before Tun Mahathir was born. He has no idea of what he is talking about,” the Sultan was quoted as saying by the daily.
The royal rebuke is in response to Mahathir recently saying that parochialism leading to talks of possible secession from the Malaysian federation was unhealthy.
“The Federal Constitution does not allow secession. We would like to call ourselves as Malaysian, not Johorean or Kedahan. It tends to break up the unity of the federation,” Mahathir had said, adding that the harmony achieved by Johor today was partly due to the Federal Government’s policies, including allowing the state to compete with Singapore.
Sultan Ibrahim did not mince his words in his reply, saying Mahathir was not qualified to talk about unity.
“He is going around dividing the people including the Malays, while I am uniting Malaysians of all races including the Malays,” he said, according to The Star.
The Ruler also said that states enjoying their own unique pride did not mean they were leaving the Federation, and said such thoughts were “a figment of Dr Mahathir’s imagination.”
“He is stirring the hornet’s nest and my advice to him is to keep his mouth shut.”
The Sultan continued to slam the country’s longest serving prime minister, saying Mahathir had earned a reputation for being a confrontational person.
“He has quarrelled with many world leaders, including with our neighbour Singapore and putting Malaysia in a spot.
“And now he talks about unity with an incredible straight face. Tun Mahathir is the root cause of the present problems in the country. He has no right to interfere in my state. I will not tolerate his antics,” The Star quoted Sultan Ibrahim as saying.
Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram