Johor Crown Prince appears to call Mahathir ‘senile’, netizens jump to M’sian PM’s defence

KUALA LUMPUR — Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s “senile” remark, believed to be directed at Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has amused a number of social media users, including those who are not fans of the veteran politician.

But some also felt the remark made by the crown prince on Twitter via his handle @HRHJohorII to be too much.

“Sedap cakap…kita takkan tua? (Easy to talk like that…won’t we grow old too?)” Azis Yusoff remarked on The Malaysian Insight comments section.

On Facebook, Ju Lee wrote: “Not cool to attack him over his age. Yes, he’s old but far from senile. I doubt any of us would be as capable at his age.”

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Dr Mahathir is 93, the oldest prime minister in the world. He returned to office in May after leading Pakatan Harapan into victory in the 14th general election.

In a direct comment on Tunku Ismail’s tweet, Ir MFMS (@mdfdmdsd) also said: “Cool… Kita pun akan tua jugak…(we will also grow old.)”

Tunku Ismail, popularly known as TMJ (short for Tunku Mahkota Johor), had earlier posted a series of attacks on Twitter apparently targeted at Dr Mahathir over the degazettement of Pulau Kukup as a national park.

“Who is developing Pulau Kukup?? Dah terangkan 4 times… ow i see.. Nyanyuk! (I’ve explained it four times. Oh, I see… Senile!)

“It’s okay. Malaikat pun salah. (Even angels can be wrong) Picasso, control your grandpa,” he tweeted.

Over the weekend, Tunku Ismail said the island would be better protected as crown land, as opposed to being controlled by outsiders if it remained a national park.

Dr Mahathir rebutted his statement on Monday (Dec 10), saying: “Malaysians are not outsiders. The federal government is not an outsider. We are responsible for all things in the country.”

Another TMI reader, TTs Take, said the crown prince’s remarks showed that he did not understand the subject matter.

“His comments are frivolous… no content, no value… just doesn’t know how to reply to the senior statesman. Most importantly it shows his immaturity… after all, he is young,” he wrote.

Another reader SL said: “TMJ, when you cannot answer with facts and reason, you use sarcastic words.”

Hakim N9 (@hakim80) in his tweet said Pulau Kukup should not be developed but kept as a forest reserve, particularly as it was a special mangrove forest.

Meanwhile, those who had enjoyed Tunku Ismail’s tweets praised him, like Megat (@coachmegat), who urged the crown prince to continue speaking up.

“@HRHJohorII inspired a lot of youngsters to voice their opinions,” he said.

“Cool tunku. Your level is way above him… Toksah layan (no need to entertain),” Hafiz (@sirfeatzalot) tweeted.

Others found the crown prince’s “Picasso” reference funny, like Sean Lum (@SeanLum2), who asked if Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was the one Tunku Ismail meant.

“@SyedSaddiq bro, are you that PICASSO?” he tweeted, tagging the young minister, who is also the Muar MP from Johor.

Shahrin Niza Mahmud (@Shahrinniza1) said “Picasso” must be having a headache being stuck between Tunku Ismail and the old man, his boss.

“I’m sure Picasso must be headache at this time. Between Tunku and old man (boss).” THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT