It’s character assassination of Johor royal family, says TMJ

JOHOR BARU: Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim has claimed that the Johor royal family has been targets of character assassination over the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project.

In a series of tweets yesterday, Tunku Ismail claimed that many of Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar’s noble deeds were not brought to the attention of the public.

He re-tweeted Sultan Ibrahim’s statement about handing over a plot of land in Bukit Chagar to the government without any cost if it is involved in the RTS project.

“How much land has the Johor Sultan given to the rakyat and the government during the past until now? Millions-worth have been given to the government.

“His Majesty was able to resolve the government’s debt in his second year as Ruler.

“How many millions were given to foundations? Good things like these were not publicised,” he tweeted.

Tunku Ismail listed the Rumah Impian Bangsa Johor, which is an affordable housing project here, where land in Bandar Dato Onn and Mersing were donated and developed by the Sultan.

“Land for mosques and temples. People going for haj?

“Thousands were given assistance by His Majesty. Donations to hospitals.

“No news,” he said in another tweet.

Tengku Ismail then said that only the “bad news” were brought up for public knowledge.

When another Twitter user asked where the “millions” came from, the Johor Crown Prince said that the royal family had been involved in various businesses since 1897, and their allowances were donated to various foundations.

He said there was “no news” of these deeds and added: “We are living in a world of perception. This is what you call character assassination.”

Meanwhile, former Johor Baru MP Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad, in a Facebook post, questioned a news report quoting sources that seemed to be attacking the Johor royal institution over the RTS land.

“The Prime Minister had issued a statement which said that the Pakatan Harapan government will need to buy back the land at hundreds of millions of ringgit from the Sultan of Johor.

“Then it was revealed that the statement by the Prime Minister had been issued without checking the facts on the matter first.

“And now the Sultan of Johor has agreed to hand over the land without cost to the government for the RTS project,” he added.

Shahrir urged the Prime Minister to remove any negative perception that he has towards the Ruler.