Tengku Mahkota of Johor not above the law, says Mahathir
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Tengku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has the right to speak about or criticise the government.
He said Tunku Ismail is a Malaysian citizen and there was nothing to stop him from voicing his opinions.
“He can speak about anything like a normal citizen, can criticise the government as long as he doesn’t break the law. If he makes statements which can be considered seditious, we will take action against him.
“He is not above the law. In fact, nobody in Malaysia is above the law. He can make that choice himself, if he wants to be a politician, he can but there is nothing to prevent any citizen of Malaysia from expressing his or her opinions,” he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
He said this when asked to comment about Tunku Ismail regularly voicing criticisms, which were indirectly aimed at Putrajaya.
Meanwhile, Tunku Ismail said he is ready to face any criminal action if he has indeed made any seditious remarks.
“Sila (please do). If I have to go down for upholding the Constitution, the Malay Rulers and Islam. By all means. You know where to find me.
“Like a normal citizen, I have the right to ask questions and give my opinion.
“I’m all yours. Finish what you start,” he said in a tweet yesterday.
In an earlier tweet, Tunku Ismail also questioned why the Rome Statute issue had taken centre stage.
“I am informed that there will be a biggest demonstration before June 1 orchestrated to put pressure on the Malay Rulers for the government to proceed with the Rome Statute.
“The question is why the Rome Statute has become the main agenda of the government when there are many issues of the rakyat that should be prioritised?” he tweeted.