KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has defended Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the ongoing disagreements with the Johor Palace, pointing out that it was not a personal issue.
“The issue is not personal. The prime minister wants to ensure the constitutional spirit is observed and I think we are with him on that,” the PKR president said in a Malaysiakini report today.
Anwar reportedly made the comment in Sandakan after a walkabout with DAP’s candidate Vivian Wong for the constituency’s upcoming by-election.
At a press conference on Pakatan Harapan’s first anniversary in power, Dr Mahathir called Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Ibrahim a “little boy” and said that he should not talk publicly about matters when he may not have full knowledge about them.
The row between the two worsened after the resignation of Datuk Osman Sapian as the state mentri besar and Putrajaya’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which led to a public tiff on the powers of state rulers as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
Last month, Tunku Ismail told outsiders to stay out of Johor’s affairs and even stated that the people need to change the prime minister.
