KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 ― Tunku Ismail Ibrahim insisted yesterday that he has a good working relationship with the current Pakatan Harapan (PH) state government in Johor, just like how it was with the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.

The Johor crown prince reiterated the importance of serving the public, amid rumours that the public is boycotting his football club’s matches for his pro-BN stance prior to the election.

"To me, everyone has the right to their own views and opinions. For me, I had a good relationship with the previous administration and currently, I also have a good working relationship with the new administration.

"I’m sure you can verify this with the Chief Minister, the exco for Islamic Affairs, the exco for Youth, Sports and Culture and all other government officers,” he said in a statement on the Johor Southern Tigers page.

The Tengku Mahkota Johor (TMJ) reminded politicians that they have to serve the public and not their parties’ ideology.

"Having said this, if a fan can't differentiate between politics and sports, that's not my problem. You can't be too obsessed and link politics to everything.

"No matter what happens, Johor must be prioritised,” he added.

In a Facebook post in April, Tunku Ismail launched a thinly-veiled attack on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, without naming him, and warned Johoreans not to be duped by a "forked-tongue” individual.

He also said changing a country’s fate and improving the system was not through bringing down a government, but by changing it from within.

However, top comments on the Facebook post disagreed with the Johor crown prince, with Malaysians saying they were suffering and would vote against BN.

In response, Dr Mahathir claimed that the prince’s comments on politics would only benefit Pakatan Harapan (PH).

Last month, PH not only took power for the first time not only in Putrajaya but also in Johor, while Dr Mahathir was elected prime minister.