KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s jail sentence for corruption has been reduced from 12 to six years by the Pardons Board following its meeting on Monday (Jan 29), sources including senior government officials told CNA.
The decision by the board, which is headed by Malaysia’s king, includes a reduction of his RM210 million (US$44.4 million) fine to an unspecified amount, according to three separate sources who spoke on condition of strict confidentiality.
The partial royal pardon for his role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case comes after serving less than two years of his prison term.
The reduction means Najib is expected to complete his sentence in August 2028. But with parole for good behaviour, he could be out in August 2026 after serving two-thirds of the new jail term.
There has been feverish speculation about the pardon after Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) confirmed on Tuesday that the board members including herself had met on Monday. She said an official announcement by the Pardons Board will be made.
The meeting was one of Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin’s last official tasks before he stepped down as Malaysia’s king on Jan 31 and handed the role to Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar under the country’s unique rotation system for its nine royal state households.
CNA is contacting the Malaysian authorities for comment. Najib's lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he has yet to be informed of any decision by the Pardons Board.
NAJIB’S INFLUENCE AND OUTSTANDING CHARGES
Najib, an ex-United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) president, is still believed to wield huge influence in the party, which is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.
He was Malaysia’s premier for nine years until May 2018 and its first PM to be imprisoned. He began serving his jail term in August 2022 after two failed appeals to overturn his conviction at a Malaysian High Court two years earlier.
The charges involved the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB, into his personal bank accounts in 2014 and 2015.
He was found guilty of three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power by the High Court in July 2020, and was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million. The fine remains unsettled.
He is also facing several other charges in relation to the 1MDB scandal, including the laundering of RM27 million involving funds from SRC International.
Najib’s lawyers have applied to dismiss this money laundering case, and the court has said he can apply for an acquittal, or a discharge not amounting to an acquittal if prosecutors are not prepared to proceed with the trial in September, local media reported.
1MDB, Najib’s brainchild shortly after he became premier, turned into one of the biggest scandals to rock Malaysia and the international financial community. United States and Malaysian investigators estimate that more than US$4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and another US$1 billion flowed into accounts held by Najib.
Just days after Najib began serving his sentence at the Federal Prison of Kajang on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, he applied for a royal pardon.
CNA previously broke the news that Najib’s lead counsel Shafee had filed a fresh application in early December last year for the Pardons Board to revisit his client’s clemency application.
Chieh Chung, a military researcher at Taiwan's National Policy Foundation, said the new route would be about 7km from the median line, which would squeeze the pre-warning and reaction time for Taiwan's air defences.
"It is trying to completely eliminate and deny the existence of the median line," he said.
Taiwan's defence ministry said China's "rude and unreasonable" actions can easily lead to an increase in tensions.
"For unknown aircraft entering our air defence identification zone (ADIZ), they will be dealt with in accordance with operating procedures and emergency handling regulations to ensure the safety of our airspace," it added.
The ADIZ is a broad area Taiwan monitors and patrols to give its forces more time to respond to threats, and Chinese military aircraft have not entered territorial Taiwanese air space so far.
China has downplayed the furore.
Its Taiwan Affairs Office described the changes as "routine" to help alleviate pressure on air space, and that China had no need to discuss this first with Taiwan.
Speaking at a regular news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the office, said the "so-called median line does not exist".
"The M503 route is for civil aviation and is in the Shanghai flight information region. It is to alleviate congestion for the related airspace and routes, and ensure aviation safety," he said.
The M503 route is mostly used by Chinese airlines and also by foreign airlines going to and from cities like Shanghai to Southeast Asia.
Flights to and from Taiwan and China's Xiamen and Fuzhou take a circuitous route skirting the median line, rather than flying directly across the strait.
Taiwan has complained about the M503 route before, in 2018, when it said China opened the northbound part of it without first informing Taipei in contravention of a 2015 deal to first discuss such flight paths.
He noted that in recent times, the relationship between the different ethnic races in Malaysia has been tense, perpetuated by polarised political differences, and that the Johor Sultan will be the right person to unite the masses.
“Presently, we can see the relationship between the races are beginning to fracture,” said Mr Hussein.
“But I do believe that His Majesty will set it right to unite all people of Malaysia as one Bangsa Malaysia,” he added.
Mr Teh, the South Johor SME Association advisor, said Sultan Ibrahim could also improve Malaysia’s bilateral relations with some foreign countries through soft diplomacy, given his strong personal friendship with international world leaders.
“His Majesty … has very good international diplomatic connections, especially with Singapore,” said Mr Teh.
“We believe and we also hope that he can make Malaysia the choice to attract more foreign direct investments,” he added.
Political analyst Adib Zalkapli, director of public policy consulting firm BowerGroupAsia, told CNA the role of the monarch in Malaysia has evolved over the years.
He noted that previously, the king played a symbolic role as head of state. However, especially during the reign of Sultan Abdullah over the last five years, the king has been crucial in resolving political stalemates in Malaysia.
For instance, Sultan Abdullah played a key role in resolving the political impasse after the last 2022 general election ended in a hung parliament, when he appointed Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister to lead a unity government.
Mr Adib noted that Sultan Ibrahim’s outspoken style and willingness to lend advice in government matters means that the ruler would further shape the role of the monarchy.
“Sultan Ibrahim has always played a key role in the governance of the state. And I think with the expansion of the role of the Yang Di Pertuan Agong that we've seen over the last five years, it fits very well with Sultan Ibrahim’s character and style of ruling,” said Mr Adib.
“So it wouldn't be a big surprise to Malaysia in general to see a more assertive monarchy in the coming years.”
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, who will reign for five years, is the second ruler from Johor to ascend the national throne.
PHOTO: SULTAN IBRAHIM SULTAN ISKANDAR/FACEBOOK
KUALA LUMPUR – Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar was sworn in as Malaysia’s new king at Istana Negara on Jan 31, becoming the second ruler from the southern state to ascend the national throne.
Sultan Ibrahim, who will reign for five years, is the country’s 17th king. He takes on the role about four decades after his late father, Sultan Mahmud Iskandar, became king from 1984 to 1989.
Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah will continue in his previous role as deputy king for the next five years.
The ceremony was witnessed by other Malay rulers, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Ministers Zahid Hamidi and Fadillah Yusof, as well as other government officials and dignitaries.
The 65-year-old King, who was elected last October by his fellow royal rulers, succeeds Pahang’s Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah. The previous king ascended to the post in 2019 following the historic abdication by his predecessor, Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan, after just three years on the throne.
The monarch also hopes to revive stalled plans for a high-speed rail project between Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, which was cancelled in 2021. Malaysia is still reviewing fresh proposals from the private sector on the project, after conducting a request-for-information exercise. Singapore has said it is open to discussions on a new proposal “starting from a clean slate”.
Sultan Ibrahim has spoken warmly of the close ties between Johor and Singapore, describing them as a “special relationship”.
Known as one of the most colourful and outspoken of Malaysia’s sovereigns, the royal intends to make his presence felt in Kuala Lumpur. He has also suggested that judicial appointments must be made independently, separate from the executive, and that state oil firm Petronas report directly to the king.
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However, his powers as king as set out in the federal Constitution are largely confined to matters pertaining to Islam and the culture of the Malay majority, and the dissolution of Parliament. Executive power is held by ruling politicians and the civil service.
Nevertheless, Malaysia’s monarchy saw its influence grow during the reign of the previous king, Sultan Abdullah, who used his discretionary powers during a period of political instability to pick three prime ministers between 2020 and 2022.
In an interview with selected media on Jan 3, Sultan Abdullah said he hoped that Datuk Seri Anwar’s administration would last its full five-year term, calling for political stability in the country.
MACC investigators are also dialling back to another cross-border corporate exercise involving the now-defunct trading platform called the Central Limit Order Book, or CLOB, and the takeover of a large conglomerate called Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd, which at the time was controlled by a businessman with close ties to Anwar.
Both cases, which are now under the MACC's scrutiny, directly involve Singaporean businessman Akbar Khan, a long-time Daim acolyte who is now a person of interest in the widening probe.
Singapore set up CLOB in 1990 after Kuala Lumpur banned the trading of stocks in Malaysian companies on the Singapore exchange.
Eight years later, the trading platform emerged as a serious loophole in Malaysia’s imposition of capital control to halt rampant foreign speculation on the local currency.
Just days before Mr Anwar was sacked from government in late September 1998, Malaysia imposed capital controls, fixed the local currency at RM3.80 against the US dollar, and banned the trading of Malaysian stocks outside the country. The move effectively froze billions of dollars worth of stock in 112 Malaysian companies that were trading on CLOB.
Mr Akbar not only won a lucrative concession awarded by the Malaysian finance ministry, which at the time was headed by Daim, to operate a lucrative concession to manage the return of the frozen equities that were estimated to be roughly US$4 billion. He also secured the blessing of the then-finance minister to take over conglomerate MPHB, which held stakes in banking, property, gaming and shipping.
Government sources noted that Mr Akbar, who currently controls one of the country’s top real estate entities, Bandar Raya Development Bhd (BRDB), is on the list of personalities MACC is set to call for questioning in the coming days and will be asked to make a declaration of his financial holdings. Mr Akbar did not respond to CNA's request for comment.
ONE OF ASIA’S WEALTHIEST?
Daim is not listed in any catalogue or index of Asia’s wealthiest businessmen. But bankers in both Singapore and Malaysia believe that Daim, who served two stints as finance minister – from 1984 to 1991 and from 1999 to 2001 – sits in the same league as other Asian tycoons such as Robert Kuok and Li Ka-shing.
Apart from a handful of bank accounts, Daim’s asset declaration to the MACC included his equity holdings in the Switzerland-incorporated financial grouping ICB, which was previously known as International Commercial Bank.
It is a curious financial grouping with branches in Eastern Europe and Africa. When it began operations in the mid-1990s, ICB had branches in non-traditional financial centres, such as Prague, Budapest, Sarajevo, Tirana, Accra, Conakry, Dar es Salaam and Maputo.
Now, MACC investigators are discovering a hydra-like business empire, fronted largely by business proxies who represent his interest in dozens of private and publicly listed companies in Malaysia and abroad. Among the listed companies tied to Daim include property concern Plenitude Bhd, investment holding concern Langkah Bahagia Bhd, and Kejora Harta Bhd.
“Each day of the (Daim) investigation is a new discovery,” noted the senior government official involved in the probe.
Input is provided via expert opinion and the surveys of business people, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a press release on Tuesday (Jan 30). It said that this data was taken from 13 external sources.
Singapore scored 83 in 2023, the same score it received the year before.
The CPIB said the corruption situation in Singapore “remains firmly under control”, pointing out that the number of public sector corruption cases remains consistently low.
“Public Perception Surveys regularly conducted by CPIB indicate strong public confidence in our national corruption control efforts,” it added.
CPIB also provided additional rankings related to corruption. Singapore was ranked third for absence of corruption in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2023. This makes it the top Asian nation out of 142 countries.
It also performed well in the 2023 Report on Corruption in Asia by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) where it was ranked as the top out of 16 economies.
“Singapore’s reputation as one of the least corrupt countries in the world is hard-earned,” said CPIB. It said that it would continue to work with the community to keep corruption at bay.
“CPIB takes a serious view of all reports and information that may disclose a corruption offence, whether the informant is known or anonymous,” it added.
“Together, we will continue to ensure that incorruptibility remains a key part of the Singaporean DNA.”
The Crown Arch in front of Istana Bukit Serene, Sultan Ibrahim's official residence. Photographer: Aparna Nori/Bloomberg
Just north of Singapore, in a public square overlooking the Johor Strait, tourists gather daily to snap photos of what looks from afar like a giant spider. The structure, two crisscrossing arches topped with an enormous replica crown, opened several years ago as a monument to the billionaire living next door — one of Malaysia’s richest men, who will soon become even more powerful.
Johor Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, 65, financed the crown arches on government-owned land both to attract visitors and remind the public that he oversees Malaysia’s second-most populous state, according to people familiar with his thinking, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Grandiose and popular with residents in the state, in many ways it’s emblematic of the motorcycle-riding, Ferrari-driving, Instagram-savvy royal, who has pursued private business activities in addition to carrying out his official duties. His family’s assets with readily available valuations are worth at least $5.7 billion, according to an estimate by Bloomberg, and the sultan’s empire reaches far beyond that.
$5.7 billion
Johor Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar's Family Fortune
But Sultan Ibrahim and his family own much more than that.
The nearby grounds of Istana Bukit Serene, a palace completed in 1933 that serves as the sultan’s official residence, showcase the fruits of a sprawling business empire that touches everything from real estate and mining to telecommunications and palm oil. His collection of more than 300 luxury cars includes one he says was gifted by Adolf Hitler, a friend of his great-grandfather. At an airport not far away, his family’s fleet of private jets features three Gulfstreams and a gold-and-blue Boeing 737. He even has his own army, a relic of Malaysia’s history under British rule.
The extent to which Sultan Ibrahim displays his riches — and speaks out on issues traditionally reserved for elected politicians — makes him unique among Malaysia’s nine hereditary rulers, who rotate the role of head of state among them every five years. With close ties to the leadership of Singapore and business partners that include one of China’s biggest property developers, the sultan is poised to have more influence on both domestic and foreign policy than any previous Malaysian monarch. Selected by the nation’s hereditary rulers in October, he officially takes the throne on Jan. 31.
Although the position is mostly ceremonial, Malaysia’s king has become more important following the 2018 ouster of a coalition that had ruled the Southeast Asian nation for more than six decades. The sitting monarch, King Abdullah Ahmad Shah, has since stepped in three times to name a prime minister, twice after governments collapsed and most recently after an inconclusive election in November 2022, when he gave power to current leader Anwar Ibrahim. That has effectively made Malaysia’s politicians — including Anwar, who now oversees a wobbly government with nearly 20 parties — more beholden to the king than ever before.
Sultan Ibrahim
Sultan Ibrahim and Malaysia’s King Abdullah in October 2023 after the nation’s hereditary rulers picked a new monarch. Photographer: Mohd Rasfan/POOL/AFP/Getty Images
Even before ascending to the throne, Sultan Ibrahim has stirred controversy. In an interview with Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper last month, he vowed to check the power of Anwar and other elected lawmakers. He called for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Petronas, a state-owned oil and gas giant, to report to the king instead of the prime minister, something that would require legal changes. He also urged the revival of a high-speed rail project between Singapore and the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur — and pushed for it to run through a property development in which he’s an investor.
Sultan Ibrahim declined multiple requests for an interview, and the Johor palace declined to comment on detailed questions from Bloomberg on this story.
Anwar has sought to downplay any discord, telling reporters in December that the sultan’s views “will not influence national policies and our principle of constitutional monarchy.” Later that month, Anwar said that Sultan Ibrahim “understands the constitution” and sends him frequent messages on WhatsApp. The sultan told the Straits Times he was on good terms with Anwar, saying the prime minister “calls me sometimes, even at midnight, asking for advice.”
The Johor sultanate has been at the forefront of a debate in Malaysia about the role of the royals in a modern-day democracy since the 1990s, when lawmakers publicly accused Sultan Ibrahim’s father of murder. While the subject is taboo due to a sedition law that criminalizes expressions of hatred or contempt for the rulers, a few politicians over the years have dared to speak out — most notably the 98-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, who frequently bumped heads with the sultans during his 24 cumulative years as prime minister.
Sultan Ibrahim, far left, then Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, second from left, and Sultan Ibrahim’s father, Sultan Iskandar, second from right, at the launch of South-Johor Economic Region when Sultan Ibrahim was crown prince, in 2006. Photographer: Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg
Sultan Ibrahim, far left, then Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in the middle, and Sultan Ibrahim’s father, Sultan Iskandar, far right, at the launch of South-Johor Economic Region when Sultan Ibrahim was crown prince, in 2006. Photographer: Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg
Most pertinent to investors today is a provision in the federal constitution that says the king “shall not actively engage in any commercial enterprise” — a point of contention that hasn’t been tested in Malaysia’s courts. The Johor state constitution doesn’t prohibit royals from playing a role in the private sector.
“The rulers have become very much involved in business,” Mahathir said in a recent interview in his office in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital. “Actually, they should not be involved in business. Unfortunately, the Malays cannot say no to their rulers. Their culture is such that, if the rulers want to do something, whatever the constitution or the law may say, they cannot say no. The civil servants cannot say no. Even the politicians cannot say no.”
Sultan Ibrahim makes no apologies for his business prowess.
“If you look at the history of the Johor royal family, we have been involved in business from the days of my great-grandfather,” Sultan Ibrahim told Malaysia’s Star newspaper in 2015. “I have never tried to hide my business dealings using proxies, like some people do. I am open and transparent.”
Malaysian companies with significant operations in Johor have rallied since Oct. 27, when Sultan Ibrahim was selected as the next king. Berjaya Land Bhd., which has a rail affiliate chaired by the sultan’s daughter, has surged more than 60%. Berjaya Assets Bhd., in which the sultan has a direct stake, has jumped more than 40%.
Bloomberg’s $5.7 billion calculation of his net worth is just a snapshot of his family’s total wealth, gleaned from troves of public records in Malaysia and Singapore. The estimate includes stakes in nearly a dozen companies, proceeds from share sales and other transactions, a home in Perth and a very valuable piece of land in the middle of Singapore in the name of his son, Crown Prince Ismail Ibrahim.
It excludes company stakes held by close associates as well as assets where a value can’t be ascertained. That includes all of his land holdings around Malaysia, his extensive car collection and — perhaps most significantly — stakes in major projects ranging from real estate to industrial parks to oil and gas facilities in Johor and beyond.
The royal family has a hand in several major projects on the southern coast of Johor, which sits atop the Singapore Strait — one of the world's most important shipping corridors.
The sultan's business footprint also reaches further upstate in Johor, which is the country's second-most populous state with more than 4 million people. Its economy is dominated by the services and manufacturing sectors.
Sultan Ibrahim has benefited from Malaysia’s affirmative action policy, which mandates that ethnic Malays and indigenous groups who make up almost 70% of the population receive a quota of licenses and permits for major investment projects. That means Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese business tycoons are often searching for a Malay partner to get involved with major projects.
Under Johor’s state constitution, the sultan has the right to ensure that authorities reserve and issue certain business permits and licenses to the Malays. The sultan is widely seen as a gatekeeper for business opportunities in Johor, and he often personally serves as the Malay partner with Chinese tycoons, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified speaking about private matters.
Corporate filings in Singapore show how these arrangements typically work. Southern Alliance Mining Ltd., majority-owned by Malaysian Chinese businessman Pek Kok Sam, formed a joint venture with the sultan in 2021 to explore gold mining in a northeastern corner of Johor on land mostly owned by him, according to a public filing. The sultan committed to securing necessary regulatory approvals, according to the document, in return for a 15% stake, a 3 million ringgit ($634,000) one-time fee and a 30% “tribute” of all future pretax profits from mining operations.
How Sultan Ibrahim profits from the joint venture with Southern Alliance
In response to questions, Southern Alliance referred to the Singapore filings and had no additional comment.
Sultan Ibrahim's influence also stretches beyond the borders of his home state. The royal has business interests in Melaka and the capital, and recently vowed to revive a high-speed rail line running the roughly 200-mile stretch from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
In interviews over the years, the sultan has aligned himself with the common people.
“I have to earn my living like everyone else,” he told the Star newspaper in 2015. “I must earn a living, like ordinary Malaysians.”
Unlike average citizens, however, Sultan Ibrahim’s official duties permit him to regularly meet and consult with the nation’s top leaders — including on projects that directly impact his personal investments.
One key example is Forest City, a luxury housing estate across from Singapore expected to cost as much as $100 billion once finished, which is operated by a joint venture between troubled Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. and a Malaysian firm owned by Sultan Ibrahim, a Johor state government agency, and others. The project, which is planned to be roughly half the size of Manhattan but is only partially completed, has struggled to gain traction in part due to Beijing’s crackdown on citizens buying real estate overseas. Mahathir also restricted visas for foreign property buyers in 2018.
Last August, Anwar’s government unveiled measures to revive Forest City, designating it a special financial zone with incentives including multiple-entry visas, fast-track access for those working in Singapore and a flat income tax rate of 15% for high-end workers. The move came after Sultan Ibrahim convinced Anwar to take action, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Forest City, operated by a joint venture between Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. and a Malaysian firm owned by Sultan Ibrahim, a Johor state government agency, and others. Photographer: Aparna Nori/Bloomberg
Anwar’s office didn’t respond to written questions on details throughout this story. Country Garden, the main developer of Forest City, didn’t respond to questions about the project.
Forest City could get a further boost if both governments accept the sultan’s proposal to make it the border crossing in a resurrected high-speed rail between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, a project shelved by Malaysia in 2021 due to a price tag estimated at more than 100 billion ringgit. Anwar’s government has put out a request for proposals to restart the project as a private initiative with no cost to taxpayers. Seven groups have submitted proposals.
Sultan Ibrahim told the Straits Times a private consortium could finance the rail project and operate it for 30 years to recoup expenses before handing it back to the government. “I will make it (come back) on,” the newspaper quoted the sultan as saying.
Many of Sultan Ibrahim’s business partners are from the Chinese community in Malaysia, China or Singapore, the financial center that he can view from Johor. He maintains close relations with Singapore’s leaders, telling the Straits Times that his royal house has a “special relationship” with the family of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, which has run the city-state for much of its existence. In a meeting in October, Singapore’s leader hailed the sultan’s “wise leadership.”
“It helps when you have a monarch who has a very good relationship with Singapore,” said Khairy Jamaluddin, 48, a former cabinet minister in Malaysia who now hosts a popular podcast. “That relationship has to be elevated in the next few years for us to really present Malaysia and Singapore as a seamless market.”
Traffic on the Johor-Singapore Causeway connecting Malaysia and the city-state. Photographer: Aparna Nori/Bloomberg
Sultan Ibrahim’s family ties with ethnic Chinese date back many generations. His great-great grandfather, Abu Bakar, is known as the father of modern Johor. In the late 1800s, he brought prosperity to the state by encouraging Chinese immigrants to operate plantations producing black pepper and gambier, a plant extract used in tanning.
The federal constitution designates Malaysia’s nine sultans as the heads of Islam in their states, and they are regarded as protectors of Malay rights. As the traditional leaders of the Malay Peninsula dating back to the 15th century, all of the nine sultans once enjoyed privileges such as immunity from prosecution.
Those perks came under attack in the 1990s after Johor Sultan Iskandar, the father of Sultan Ibrahim, allegedly assaulted a field hockey coach on palace grounds. During an open debate in parliament, lawmakers publicly accused Sultan Iskandar of dozens of crimes, including beating a caddy to death with a golf club.
The Johor royal family didn’t respond to the accusations at the time, and no charges were filed. While the parliamentary hearings ended with changes to the constitution that allowed royals to face criminal prosecution in their private capacity for the first time, it wasn’t retroactive — the result of a compromise with the sultans, who had to sign off on any amendments.
Sultan Ibrahim has avoided that kind of controversy, and has become known as an advocate for tolerance in the Muslim-majority nation. He has made veiled criticisms of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, known as PAS, which advocates policies such as banning alcohol, mandating shariah law and imposing a conservative dress code for women.
While PAS won the most seats of any single political party in the 2022 election, the Islamist party has struggled to gain a foothold in Johor. The sultan has shown support for other religions in his state by attending Christmas and Diwali celebrations.
“The Sultan of Johor is more moderate,” said Serina Abdul Rahman, a lecturer at the National University of Singapore who researches politics in rural Malaysia.
In Johor, Sultan Ibrahim and his family remain wildly popular. He has more than 900,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts regularly on everything from his love for fast cars to his official royal duties. When he was selected as the next king, his press team published a slickly produced slow-motion video of the day to mark the occasion.
Sultan Ibrahim also makes an annual procession to the state’s ten districts to see his subjects, a tradition that has gone on for generations. Some 87% of Johoreans support the royal family, according to the latest available opinion survey from 2017. About 75% of those polled wanted Sultan Ibrahim to intervene in politics when necessary.
Pictures of the Sultan of Johor and his family adorn the lobby of a small wayside inn in Johor. Photographer: Aparna Nori/Bloomberg
His son, Crown Prince Ismail, appears to also be well-liked. On a recent evening at the 40,000-seat Sultan Ibrahim Stadium — a state-of-the-art facility built on state government land and paid for by the sultan, similar to the spider-like crown arch monument — spectators appeared just as enamored with the prince as with Johor Darul Ta’zim F.C., a soccer team he owns that has won the Malaysia Super League for each of the past 10 years. Every time the team scored, fans would look up to watch the prince punching his fist in the air.
In the Straits Times interview, Sultan Ibrahim painted himself as a man of the people in contrast to Malaysia’s elected lawmakers. “There’re 222 of you in parliament — there’re over 30 million outside,” he said. “I’m not with you. I’m with them.”
Among some notable politicians, those kind of statements are raising concerns that Sultan Ibrahim will soon be able to exert his influence throughout the country in the same way as he’s done in his home state.
“He’s a man who is very aggressive in many ways,” Mahathir said. “In a situation where the government is weak, the government cannot impose the rule on the ruler.”
