Critics should ask Najib to expel Johor from Malaysia, says Crown Prince

Critics of Malaysia's Johor state should ask Prime Minister Najib Razak to expel the state from the country, the state's crown prince has said.

In a strongly-worded Facebook post on Tuesday (May 31), Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim lashed out at detractors, telling them that they could "march down to Putrajaya and propose to the Prime Minister to remove the state of Johor from Malaysia".

The posting on the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page also sought to rebut various criticisms that came from people who are allegedly "jealous" of the southern state. Each of the points begins with the phrase "don't blame Johor".

For instance, the post pointed out that Johor citizens were proud to be identified as "Johorean", because the state has existed since 1885, well before the formation of Malaya in 1957. It also explained that Johor had not been built on the foundations of racism.

The close relationship apparently enjoyed by Johor's people and its leaders was also highlighted.

"Don't blame Johor If your leaders are not there with you when the country is plagued with integrity turmoil. We are proud to have leaders who will always fight for our rights and will always be transparent with us (sic)."

Tunku Ismail, who is the oldest son of Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, is no stranger to controversial comments.

In an interview just days ago, he claimed that an important individual had told him that the country's education level could not be improved because it made it easier to "control the minds of the stupid and uneducated".

Last year, he also appeared to accuse Prime Minister Najib of having "everything to hide", after the latter failed to turn up at a forum to address concerns surrounding troubled state investor 1MDB.

seanyap@sph.com.sg