Iskandar Ismail of Johor
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Al-Mutawakkil Alallah Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail Al-Khalidi (born Tunku Mahmud Iskandar ibni Tunku Ismail; April 8th, 1932 – January 22nd, 2010) was the 24th Sultan of Johor and the 4th Sultan of modern Johor. He succeeded his father Sultan Ismail upon the latter's death on 10 May 1981. He was the eighth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Supreme King) of Malaysia from 26 April 1984 to 25 April 1989. Sultan Iskandar's reign lasted for almost 29 years until his death in January 2010. His successor is his son, Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor and his grandson, Ismail Ibrahim of Johor is the second-in-line for the throne.
Johor is the only states in Malaysia that have their own military forces (Royal Johor Military Force) to take care of their Sultan's family and belongings. Occasionally, most of the Sultans of Modern Johor abuses their power and bodyguards for their own interests.
Act of Villainy & Controversies edit
Iskandar vs Mahathir & Gov't of Malaysia edit
Shortly before his election as the Yang-Di Pertuan Agong in 1983, a spate of reports alleging Sultan Iskandar's intention to launch a coup d'état by launching a state of emergency to overthrow the government circulated within political circles, which reached Mahathir Mohamad himself. The Sultan was reportedly having fostered close relations with several key military personnel, including the Army chief himself. The government subsequently took action to curb constitutional loopholes within the constitution and took to task of reducing the power of royal veto in passing legislation, culminating to a constitutional crisis in late 1983. Nevertheless, during his inaugural speech as the Agong in 1984, about a month after the constitutional amendments were passed in parliament, Sultan Iskandar voiced public support for the revised constitution and pledged to act in accordance to the Prime Minister's advise.
Political Controversies edit
A diplomatic scandal between the United Kingdom and Malaysia broke out in 1984, when several British newspapers published pieces on Sultan Iskandar's coronation, citing the headlines such as "Killer becomes King" and "King a Killer", which enraged the Malaysian government, who demanded an apology from the British government. The British government refused to apologise on behalf of the newspapers, hence triggering tensions between the two countries. Two months later, in June 1984, Sultan Iskandar in his capacity as the Agong, surprised the Malaysian public when he publicly called upon the then-Deputy Prime Minister, Musa Hitam, to make a public apology in front of the entire congregation present at the National Mosque. Sultan Iskandar, on his part, was angry over remarks which Musa made during the course of the 1983 constitutional crisis that he deemed to be disrespectful. Musa abided to the Agong's demand and boldly came forward to make the apology, which was greeted by a thunderous applause from the entire congregation. The event, which was broadcast live throughout the nation on Malaysian Radio (although the television stations abruptly terminated its broadcast halfway), was seen by many observers as an act of confrontation by the Agong to put Musa in his place.
In 1988, also serving in his capacity as the Yang-Di Pertuan Agong, the Lord President of the Federal Court Tun Salleh Abas was sacked by the Agong in what led to the 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis. However, observers suggested a remarkably warm relationship between then-Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad with the Agong, both of whom shared common resentment against the chief justice, Salleh Abas. In 1973, Tunku Iskandar was convicted of assault and was sentenced to six months imprisonment, of which Salleh Abas served as the public prosecutor hearing the case. As the public prosecutor, Salleh had appealed to the chief justice, Raja Azlan Shah (now the Sultan of Perak), for handing down a heavier sentence for Tunku Iskandar, which naturally earned his wrath. The sacking of the Lord President, was however not without controversy, given the alleged manner in which the Agong and Prime Minister had handled the matter–including an incident which the Agong had refused to forgive the Lord President in spite of Salleh's willingness to offer his apology to the Agong, which he turned down.
Criminal Misconduct edit
In 1972, Tunku Mahmud was charged for causing assault with a mace to two men for overtaking his car and was convicted the following year. A year later, reports also surfaced another similar attack upon a young couple, when Tunku Iskandar, together with his bodyguard, attacked them with chemicals and a mace after having offended him. Another alleged incident took place at about this time when Tunku Mahmud chained up two policemen in a dog kennel for a day after having angered him.
Five years later, Tunku Mahmud was charged and convicted of manslaughter after shooting and killing a man near his private helicopter whom he took to be a smuggler. In both cases, his father, Sultan Ismail, intervened and granted official pardons to Tunku Iskandar. Similarly, his eldest son, Tunku Ibrahim Ismail, was convicted in the 1980s of shooting dead a man in a nightclub during a feud, but was quickly pardoned.
In 1987, Sultan Iskandar was accused of causing the death of a golf caddy in Cameron Highlands by assault, following an incident in which the golf caddy laughed when the Sultan missed a hole. Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first Prime Minister, pointed out that the Sultan (then the Agong) could not be prosecuted due to the immunity that was accorded to the rulers, yet he condemned Sultan Iskandar's actions at the same time. In the end the matter was let off without much public attention. The brother of the caddy – who also suffered injuries from the incident, being distressed from what he saw, subsequently ran amok in Kuala Lumpur and had to be quarantined in a mental hospital.