JOHOR BARU, April 11 — The Coordinating Council of the Federation of Johor Malay Non-Governmental Organisations (Gabung Johor) today criticised those who condemned Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Ibrahim’s political views.
Gabung Johor vice-president Abdullah Md Yusof said the council supports the political views of Tunku Ismail as the Tunku Mahkota Johor as he only wants the best for the state.
“We regret the criticisms and allegations by certain parties of Tunku Ismail’s post via the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook as we feel that certain parties have misunderstood his views,” he said in a media conference in Ulu Tiram here today.
In a Facebook post on the Johor Southern Tigers page on Saturday night, Tunku Ismail launched a thinly-veiled attack on Dr Mahathir, 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 would not happen by bringing down a government, but by changing it from within.
Abdullah was joined by 20 representatives of Malay NGOs in support of the Johor crown prince.
Abdullah, who lashed out at the critics, advised them to first read and understand the context before commenting in an irrational manner.
“We disagree with certain parties who hurled allegations at Tunku Ismail’s posting.
“As Bangsa Johor (Johoreans), we need to respect one another as well as be loyal to the royal institution,” he said.
Abdullah urged those who have criticised Tunku Ismail to stop doing so.
He said that the council, which is among the biggest umbrella NGOs in Johor, is considering lodging a police report on the matter.
The top comments on the Facebook post disagreed with the Johor crown prince, with Malaysians saying they were suffering and they would vote against Barisan Nasional (BN).
Tunku Ismail later denied having any political bias.
He also said he had previously spoken about issues involving BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
