Johor Sultan Tells Dr Mahathir To Act Like A Pensioner!
The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar al-Marhum Sultan Ismail, was Tuesday reported to have publicly said that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should start acting like a pensioner and stop criticising the government.
The sultan was said to have made the remarks to about a hundred people at the Sultan Abdul Bakar Mosque here after performing the Aidilfitri prayers.
"If one has already been pensioned, just behave like a pensioner, what is the use of making more noise?," said a source who repeated the quote to Bernama.
During Umno's 60th anniversary celebrations at Istana Johor in May this year, the sultan had even tried to patch things up between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Dr Mahathir by asking them to be photographed together in a group picture with him and other Umno leaders.
***** Very rarely does such a statement come from a member of the Royalty. It probably shows the extent to which the current spat between the two protagonists has affected even those so high up the hierarchy.
It will not be so easy for Dr Mahathir to simply rebut or have a clever retort for the Sultan's remarks, as injudicious as they may seem. In fact it would be best that in future the Royals remain above the fray and leave political jousting and verbal fisticuffs to the commoner, lest it invite some irreverent response from the hoi polloi.
(It would be greatly appreciated that commenters on this subject refrain from any remarks that may be construed as showing disrespect to Royalty.)
An interesting read: National University Of Singapore Bows To Political Reality
The sultan was said to have made the remarks to about a hundred people at the Sultan Abdul Bakar Mosque here after performing the Aidilfitri prayers.
"If one has already been pensioned, just behave like a pensioner, what is the use of making more noise?," said a source who repeated the quote to Bernama.
During Umno's 60th anniversary celebrations at Istana Johor in May this year, the sultan had even tried to patch things up between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Dr Mahathir by asking them to be photographed together in a group picture with him and other Umno leaders.
***** Very rarely does such a statement come from a member of the Royalty. It probably shows the extent to which the current spat between the two protagonists has affected even those so high up the hierarchy.
It will not be so easy for Dr Mahathir to simply rebut or have a clever retort for the Sultan's remarks, as injudicious as they may seem. In fact it would be best that in future the Royals remain above the fray and leave political jousting and verbal fisticuffs to the commoner, lest it invite some irreverent response from the hoi polloi.
(It would be greatly appreciated that commenters on this subject refrain from any remarks that may be construed as showing disrespect to Royalty.)
An interesting read: National University Of Singapore Bows To Political Reality
posted by The Malaysian. at 10/24/2006 04:45:00 PM
13 Comments:
What The Malaysian said on his closing paragraph. Understandbly, prl was just venting some steam, and he is quite right in asserting the concept of constitutional monarch.
I do believe His Highness is trying to distance himself from the five honest judges catastrophe, which happened during the period when he was the Yang DiPertuan Agong. I do not believe the Rakyat will blame His Highness for this as he was merely acting on the advice of, as he should and as prl stated, the then Prime Minister.
After all, the Rakyat have a more prominent target, who has an even more prominent mouth to match, eh mates?
dr mahathir has every right to talk.....it's his right to voice his opinions about issues plaguing the country....
the sultan asking dr mahathir to behave like a pensioner? it's like saying to an old, healthy, retired man (can be your parents or anybody) to just sit home and do nothing else except to watch tv because he's old.....
At least the 82 year old Tun has contributed to the nation's development from being a former colonial outpost to what it is today!
What has the royal done for the nation?
Whack a caddie dead and locked up a policeman in the dog pound!
Bravo!
"We are now seeing a revival of the Tamil Muslim revolution - with the Temenggung Tun Mutahir, the son of the old former Bendahara Tun Ali, being the chief architect. Sultan Alauddin's elder son and the rightful heir Munawar Shah was passed over for his younger half brother, Mahmud, the son of the Temenggong's own sister. The grand old man of Melaka, Tun Perak, died in 1498, to be succeeded by his brother Tun Puteh. When he died shortly after, Tun Mutahir achieved the victory he desired and became Bendahara - the real power in Melaka. Melaka's State continued to flourish but the court was now thronged and dominated by Tamil merchants, ready to buy their way to royal favour. Their monopoly in trade made them despised by other traders and the Malay chiefs and common people hated the arrogant and greedy "Jawi Pekan" strutting like rulers.
On September 1, 1509, European contact with the Malay Peninsula was first established when a Portuguese squadron of five ships under Diego Lopez de Sequeira sailed into port. They were welcome oddities at first - the Malays called them Bengali Putih, or white Bengalis - but the Sultan was soon pressured by Melaka's Indian merchants to attack the new infidels. This was due to the threat of trade rivalry as well as word reaching them of Portuguese cruelty to Muslims in India."
http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/
I do believe that the outstanding debt owed by the Muslim Indian community, the likes of Tun Mahathir and you-know-who; to the Sultan of Johore, who happens to be an indirect descendant of Sultan Mahmud Shah, in respect of causing the fall of the Malacca Empire and the subsequent colonisation of the Malay Peninsular...is now considered fully settled; with interest. After 400+ years.
Dr. M has contributed much to Malaysia in the PAST and that's a FACT everyone agree. Dr. M has been remunerated for his effort (including his current pension benefits) and he should be happy with it. All that he has done is NOW HISTROY and no one can change it. His name will be recorded in all Malaysian History books.
Enough is enough....Dr. M should STOP all his actions and act as a PENIONER as commented by His Royal Highness. He should let the current government a chance to do what they have to do. So far the Mat has been very nice and respectful to Dr. M. Dr. M would should know better on the course of action that he would have taken IF there is anyone in the country who is doing what he is doing, while he is in POWER...
With much due "respect" to the Johor Sultan, here are the true facts:
The Sultan of Johor must have forgotten that Tun. Dr. Mahathir had helped him so many times before.
Appointed Tunku Mahkota or Crown Prince in 1959, the Sultan was dismissed from that post in 1961 by his father after being found guilty of assault in the court and sentenced to imprisonment.
While he was Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Iskandar created further controversy by assaulting and killed a golf caddy. The golf caddy laughed when the Sultan missed a golf stroke, and he was murdered on the spot.
The brother of the caddy, a Royal Malaysian soldier, who was badly injured, subsequently ran amok in Kuala Lumpur causing a security scare. The soldier was later arrested and sent to a mental hospital. Tun Dr. Mahathir helped the sultan and nothing happened to the ruler of Johor.
And then, the Johor sultan assaulted a hockey coach and teacher, Mr Douglas Gomez and this sparked a constitutional crisis between the government and the Malay Rulers which culminated in the removal of the legal immunity from prosecution of all the rulers in March 1993.
Sultan Iskandar, however, continues to be immune from prosecution for his previous offences as the law which provides for the rulers to be stripped of their legal immunity was not made retroactive (eg. having a backdating effect).
If not because of Tun. Dr. Mahathir, the Sultan is probably spending his lifetime in the jail now instead of being able to speak in the public asking Tun not to make anymore noise.
A Constitutional Monarch takes his or her advise from, and acts only on the advise of a Political Prime Minister. It is provided so in the M\'sian Constitution. The only time a Monarch owes his or her Prime Minister \'favours\' is when the Monarch actually reigns, both in name and fact. Well, shiver me timbers, I didn\'t know that the Yang DiPertuan Agong was, and is actually the Real Ruler and Master of Malaysia! Dang nabbit, I am far more stupid than my writing suggests!
Must be something to do with the crooked bridge. Why all the silence now with the rm100 mil compensation? How much the royal family owns in Terbang Perdana? Now, the switching of sides. Why????????
HRH Sultan of Johor, to put it mildly, is quite well-known for his, erhmm... legendarily unique and accentric behavior. Which is something that's already been pointed out by other commenters (in not so many words). You can't get any more polite than this without lying. ;-)
But other than the fact the statement comes from a Sultan, there isn't any real value generated by his vocalization. News-worthy, maybe, but only to the point of attention-grabbing headline generation.
It's also kinda funny how outspoken people are quite prone to tell others to STFU.
Tun Dr. M has every right to voice out his dissatisfaction. At the same time, governmental policy should not be tailored to the whims of Dr. M, either. While there are inadequacies in the way the government is being run and some valid point raised by the Tun, any rectifications made must be for the sake of the people (all Malaysians, and not just some).
The rest, as they say, is just "noise". Noise is annoying, it doesn't add value to the environment, and for the most part, should just be ignored...
If anything is to be done to make things right, just f*'ing do it - give credit to the Tun for bringing it up (if it is warranted), then move along... Politicians (elected or otherwise) adding to the "noise" produces a net effect of more "noise" with larger amplitude. Not at all productive - just noisier...
And all Malaysians could do with a little more action and definitely more QUIET...
\"And so far am I glad it so did sort,
As this their jangling I esteem a sport.\"
It would be greatly appreciated that commenters on this subject refrain from any remarks that may be construed as showing disrespect to Royalty!!!!!!!!!
we are lucky that in singapore,
we are not rule by a figurehead who do nothing but acting like a small kid.
immature comments from thi supposedly "sultan".
i may recomend him to go
and repeat his primary education.
I think HHM is no stupid. He just want to show His power is still significant to their peoples of Johore.Just like the way of Thailand's King shows his voice to change the Thaksin regime last year.
As far as we know Mahathir had too much power during his seat as PM and can't be criticised or else ones would face a strict action against ISA rules. Every Malaysian knows about it.And tell me who can criticise him!?The only people who always showing contradiction to him is HHM sultan of Johore!
Now new PM could be the next. And we just heard about HHM converse view on causeway to be demolished by any way. No one can stop HHM form talking even in the government-controlled media and people here knows His power is still significant...
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