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Johor Prince is a 'little boy who does not know anything': Mahathir

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Malaysian PM fires back after the state's Crown Prince lamented that the palace's good deeds go unnoticed

PUTRAJAYA : The Johor Crown Prince is a "little boy who does not know anything", said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

"I don't want to comment on the Sultan of Johor (Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar). If I say anything, that is not good - it is not nice because he is the Sultan.

"This TMJ (initials the crown prince is known by), he is a little boy... Well, he is stupid because he doesn't know what is happening," said Dr Mahathir.

"So, don't talk. If you don't know anything, don't talk."

He was commenting on Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim's lament that the good deeds of the Johor Palace were not being given enough credit and that this had further ruffled the relationship between the government and the Johor royals.

The Crown Prince had claimed the Johor royal family was a victim of "character assassination" and was being unfairly criticised over the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, Tunku Ismail claimed that many of Sultan Ibrahim's noble deeds were not brought to the attention of the public.

He first re-tweeted Sultan Ibrahim's statement about handing over a plot of land in Bukit Chagar to the government without any cost if it is involved in the RTS project.

"How much land has the Johor Sultan given to the people and the government until now?

"Millions have been given to the government. His Majesty managed to settle the government's debt in his second year as sultan.

"How many millions were given to foundations? News of his good deeds were not publicised.

"Land for mosques and temples. People going to haj pilgrimages? Thousands were aided by His Majesty. Donations to hospitals. No news," he added in another tweet.

Tunku Ismail then added that "only the 'bad news' was brought to the public's attention".

In a separate development, Dr Mahathir said there will be no Cabinet reshuffle as Pakatan Harapan enters its second year in power.

"I don't see any reason why I need to restructure the Cabinet. There will be no reshuffle," he told the media at a group interview held in conjunction with the first anniversary of Pakatan taking over at Putrajaya.

When asked to evaluate the present Cabinet, he gave it a "five out of 10".

"I am very conservative. I have been in the government for 22 years and I know how government functions, but these people (ministers) are new, they do not know how a government functions. But they are learning very fast. Sometimes they come to me because I have the experience," said Dr Mahathir.

There has been speculation of a pending Cabinet reshuffle because of a growing perception that some ministers have not performed to expectations. - THE STAR

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