Sultan Rebukes PM Mahathir for Interfering in Johor Affairs

The Sultan of Johor has rebuked the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for interfering in the southern state's affairs. Mahathir faced the brunt of Ibrahim Iskandar for meddling in the appointment of the new chief minister. He had said the government hopes to appoint an acting chief minister as soon as possible. Taking to Facebook, the Sultan said he is out of the country but following the developments closely. "I want certain parties to stop making so much noise and quarrel about politics and to focus on taking care of the country instead."

As for Johor, Iskandar said not to meddle in the state's affairs because the sovereign state still has a sultan. "I will make the best decision for my people when the time comes." However, this did not desist the Prime Minister. "If we assume that those who chose PMs and chief ministers were the monarchs, we will no longer be a democratic country anymore."

Mahathir said Malaysia would then be a country with an absolute monarchy. He said the Sultan has no role. "The role is for the party that won the election to determine who leads."