Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has recalled the incidents which transpired in 1992 during the tenure of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and reminded the government not to repeat such greed-driven episodes .
"I will never forget the 1992 constitutional crisis. I still remember how my family was treated by federal government officers.
"I remember things such as trying to disband the Johor military force, Johor exco members were told not to receive my late grandfather at the airport, how JKR (Public Works Department) was told not to fix and maintain anything at any of the Johor palaces.
"My mother was even stopped by the Malaysian customs upon entering Johor from Singapore. She was told to step out of the car because they wanted to inspect everything in the car. I still remember everything and I still remember the individuals responsible for it," he said in a Facebook posting.
The 31-year-old prince was eight when a special parliamentary session was held in December 1992 which saw the passing of a resolution to curb the powers of the rulers if necessary.
This was sparked off by two assault incidents involving the Johor royalty.
The first was when Tunku Abdul Majid, the second son of then Johor Sultan Sultan Iskandar hit the goalkeeper of the Perak hockey team, after it defeated his Johor team.
When the Malaysian Hockey Federation slapped Tunku Abdul Majid with a five-year ban, his late father was enraged and apparently pressured the state education department to order school hockey teams in the state to boycott national tournaments.
This had upset hockey coach Douglas Gomez, who criticised the education department and called for the resignation of key office bearers in the Johor Hockey Association.
Peeved by this, the late sultan later summoned Gomez to the palace and reportedly assaulted him. The hockey coach then filed a police report.
Meanwhile, Tunku Ismail said the 1992 episode is in the past, but went on to add that "God is great and karma is a beautiful thing."
"Today, the relationship between the government and Johor royal family is good. I appreciate that. I hope it's not just because you need us now. It's good you realise we need each other.
"But I think at this time the focus should be to correct the mistakes and progress as a nation. I hope such dark history you created for your thirst of greed and power will not happen again.
"I pray that we can focus on making this nation of ours a better place in the future, for the sake of the people," he added.
The crown prince also told Johoreans that the sultan and the royal family loves them and reminded his subjects that their strength is unity.
"I love you. I'm born to serve you till the day I die and that is my responsibility. My priority is to uphold your rights as Johoreans, and your welfare.
"Remember this always. The strength of Johor's sovereignty is unity. Always remain united as Johoreans so no one can push us around.
"We decide what's good for us. This is our home, this is our state. It is our responsibility to protect Johor's rights and its sovereignty," he said.
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