Johor sultan right to tick off Mahathir, says Nazri

(FMT) – Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar was right in telling off Dr Mahathir Mohamad for criticising China’s investment in Iskandar Malaysia.

Tourism and Culture minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz called Mahathir a hypocrite as he himself instructed then International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz to canvass for foreign investment when he was prime minister for 22 years.

“If a non-Chinese company came to invest, that is fine by him (Mahathir), but if the Chinese came in to invest, it is tantamount to ‘ceroboh negara’ (intruding).

“(What was said by the Sultan was) rightly so. Mahathir is ridiculous. Memang patut dia kena lanyak semalam, lama dah (He deserved to be slammed, it has been a long time coming),” Nazri told reporters here yesterday.

He said this after opening the Tourism Malaysia Chinese New Year Celebrations outside the Town Hall on Friday night.

Nazri also said Mahathir’s criticism of China stemmed from his bitter feelings towards Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“His dendam kesumat (bitterness) with Najib is too kuat (strong).

“As an elder statesman, he should be leading by example. Today, he is doing things he himself would not have agreed with.

“It looks like he is irrational, senile and not right in the head. It is time for him to withdraw from politics,” Nazri said.

On Thursday, Sultan Ibrahim, though not mentioning any names, spoke of a leader who wasn’t from Johor, but who was trying to “be clever” by telling Johoreans, who had been living in peace and harmony for years, what they should do.

Mahathir has been a staunch critic of development projects in Johor, particularly Forest City in Iskandar Malaysia, that is backed by Chinese investments.

Mahathir also claimed it would not be long before 700,000 Chinese nationals set up home in Johor and changed the state’s political landscape forever.

Subsequently, Sultan Ibrahim said he was “hurt” by Mahathir’s claims but vowed to defend Johor’s sovereignty, saying the former PM was playing the “politics of fear and race”.