KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim appeared to stump for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the election, as he said changing a country’s fate and improving the system was not by bringing down a government, but by changing it from the inside.
Tunku Ismail told Johoreans to express any problems they had with the government and assured them that they had him and Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to convey their concerns to the “highest leadership” in Malaysia.
“Don't change the boat if the engine is not broken, don't even change the skipper but allow HM The Sultan of Johor and I to guide the skipper for you.
“Change what needs to be changed and upgrade what needs upgrading for the sake of our beloved country,” Tunku Ismail said in a statement yesterday.
Ahead of a heated battle in Johor, which Pakatan Harapan (PH) has made its battleground state in the 14th general election against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), the Johor crown prince also said starting a collision between the Johor government and the federal government would not bring any benefits.
“If we can produce more young talents with potential, willing to serve the country so we can ensure he or she is capable of representing the government, we can change everything from the inside,” he said.
Tunku Ismail expressed understanding with people who were discouraged by the leadership of the country, saying: “Umno needs to have more assets than liabilities. It means Umno needs to revamp the way it governs, change the way it thinks and it's [sic] policy.”
He told Malaysians not to be fooled by a “forked tongue individual”, citing an incident in 1992 where he said his late grandfather, Sultan Iskandar, was not given a chance to defend himself from accusations of murder.
“The media reported that Private Adam apparently ‘ran amok’ when he got news that his brother was murdered by the Sultan of Johor. Private Adam did not have a brother and only a sister who perished in a fire at home when she was 2.
“Last year I met an individual from Kedah who told me that he met with Private Adam who told him how he was forced for 10 straight days in a dark cell by policeman and confess that the Sultan of Johor had killed his brother. This is how low the highest government’s leadership then is willing to go to have absolute power in this nation,” said Tunku Ismail.
The Johor crown prince did not refer to PH chairman and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad by name.
Tunku Ismail acknowledged that the political situation in Malaysia was “a bit messy”, but said this was the time to restore order and implement systems that have been damaged by those dreaming to be Prime Minister.
“This is the time for the South to take control of the situation that has been damaged by money and power greedy individuals and stear [sic] it in the right order.”
