KUALA LUMPUR — The supermarket section of the Aeon Tebrau City mall in Johor Baru is temporarily closed on Thursday (April 12), just a day after Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Ibrahim treated shoppers to groceries worth over RM1 million (S$340,000).

In its Facebook page, the Japanese retail giant announced the closure “until further notice” and apologised for the inconvenience, without giving any reason why.

But some Malaysians suggested that Wednesday’s shopping madness could be the reason and posted scenes of “carnage” featuring trolleys full of groceries left abandoned behind the shutters and items spilt on the floors to support their assertion.

“Yg tak sempat bayar dek TMJ semalam. Ditinggalkan pengunjung2. Nangis staff aeon tebrau nak susun balik tauuu. Dah mcm kena serangan zombie sangat,” said a Twitter user who went by the name Meow&MiniMeow, in using the Malay acronym for Tengku Ismail’s royal title.

(Those who didn’t make it in time for their groceries to be paid by TMJ yesterday. Left by shoppers. Tears for aeon tebrau staff who have to put back the items. It looks like a zombie attack.”)

The supermarket later reopened after 12pm.

“We had closed this morning and partially opened our doors to the public by 1.30pm and by 3pm we were fully operational,” an Aeon Tebrau City worker who asked not to be named told Malay Mail.

Checks by Malay Mail showed that the supermarket aisles have been cleaned of the mess left behind by over-excited shoppers.

Tunku Ismail on Tuesday sprang a surprise visit to the supermarket and announced he would pay for the groceries of all shoppers there, up to RM3,000 per person.

Hundreds of people rushed to the supermarket after word spread that the crown prince popularly known as TMJ was willing to fork out some RM1 million for their groceries.

It was reported that Tunku Ismail and his wife Che’ Puan Khaleeda Bustamam were shopping in the mall when he decided to treat “his subjects”.

The supermarket spree is believed to have started at about 7pm and ended at 8pm.

The shopping treat came after Tunku Ismail received public backlash over a post on Saturday night where he appeared to support ruling coalition Barisan Nasional.

He also said changing a country’s fate and improving the system would not happen by bringing down a government, but by changing it from within.

The prince also launched a thinly-veiled attack on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, without naming him, and warned Johoreans not to be duped by a “forked-tongue” individual.

Tunku Ismail later denied having any political bias, and had called for respect when it comes to differences.

Johor police said on Thursday that investigations had been launched after several reports were lodged against comments towards Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, following the latter’s remark on the general election. AGENCIES