JOHOR BAHRU: Johor’s regent has hit back against allegations he was behind the recent acid attack on a national footballer, and said there is a movement in Malaysia which aims to assassinate his character due to his outspokenness.
Responding to questions during a forum with local youths in Iskandar Puteri on Sunday (Jun 9), Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, also referred to as Tunku Mahkota Johor (TMJ), said “some parties” from outside the state have inaccurately framed his involvement in two issues reported by the media recently.
They are an incident in which a member of his security personnel allegedly punched a deaf ride-hailing driver as well as a string of assaults on three local footballers last month.
These include Selangor FC winger and Malaysian football star Faisal Halim, who suffered burns on the neck, shoulder, hands and chest from an acid attack on May 5.
Selangor FC are rivals of Johor Darul Ta’zim FC which is owned by Tunku Ismail.
Malaysian footballer Faisal Halim in action during the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. (File photo: AFP/Karim Jaafar) “What happened (to Faisal) we must condemn. Some people alleged that TMJ is the mastermind (behind these attacks),” said Tunku Ismail.
“If I want to finish off people, I have targets that are much bigger in this country, who steal the people’s money and make lives more difficult for the people, those who are responsible for the constitutional crisis – these are the people who must be destroyed. Not footballers.
“(Faisal) is just a footballer, it can’t be that the Selangor fans can’t think rationally, we JDT beat Selangor 4-0, 4-0 and 2-0 last season, he was playing. He is not a threat to me. He is a good player.”
He also stressed that certain parties were uncomfortable with his outspokenness on certain issues.
“There is a movement to character assassinate me because I am the most vocal prince in this country, and also because I cannot be bought, I cannot be nudged by the promise of projects to silence me. If the matter is true, I’ll say it’s true, If it’s untrue, I will say it’s not true.
“I am not afraid, I am not threatened, my objective is to (help) Johor and the people of Johor,” he added.
Tunku Ismail was appointed Johor regent at the end of January after his father ascended the throne to become Malaysia’s Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a five-year term.
During the question and answer segment of the forum, Tunku Ismail also raised the issue in which a member of his security personnel allegedly punched a deaf ride-hailing driver.
According to media reports, the driver claimed he was punched by a member of Tunku Ismail’s security detail outside St Regis hotel in Kuala Lumpur, and that he was offered RM800 (US$170) by a representative from the palace to withdraw his police report on the incident.
Malaysian police chief Razarudin Husain has said that police were now investigating allegations on whether the driver was punched and pressured to reach a settlement.
Following the incident, the Johor crown prince posted on social media platform X saying that any effort to link actions of an “external security personnel” with him and the entire royal institution was “uncalled for”.
Tunku Ismail said on Sunday that he was not present during the incident and only learnt about it from the head of his security detail the day after it happened.
“Perhaps there was some rough treatment by police, but you have to remember, they are the ones given authority, they are professionals, they have to do their jobs.
“And there is no number plate or anything that indicates that the driver is a handicapped person, so how would they have known?” he said.
“So if indeed there is some rough treatment, further action will be taken. We are not trying to hide behind this matter, but there are some parties or movements who made it as if it was me who punched the driver. I was not even there,” he added.
When pressed on whether he knew who was the individual who hit the driver, Tunku Ismail suggested that it was a member of the police force who was part of his security team that day.
“A police officer … who was perhaps hotheaded while at work,” said Tunku Ismail.
“These officers are trained, they have procedures they follow. At the time of the incident perhaps the officer did not listen to instructions, they must think before they act and not just follow their emotions,” he added.