Johor sultan, Dr M greet each other as they attend royal funeral
FMT Reporters
-May 23, 2019 4:06 PM
Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar shaking hands with Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim looks on, in this picture posted on the sultan’s Facebook page.PETALING JAYA: Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad appeared to have put aside their much publicised differences, as both attended the funeral of Pahang’s Sultan Ahmad Shah who died yesterday.
A photograph posted on the sultan’s Facebook page showed them shaking hands, as crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim looked on.
They were among dignitaries and royal members who joined thousands to pay their last respects to the late Sultan Ahmad Shah at Istana Abu Bakar in Pekan.
The Pahang and Johor royal families are bonded through the marriage of the current Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, to Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, one of the sisters of the current Johor ruler.
Ties between Mahathir and the Johor palace have not been friendly since a constitutional amendment in the 1990s pushed by Mahathir to strip the rulers of their immunity from criminal prosecution.
Early this year, Mahathir met Sultan Ibrahim at Istana Bukit Serene, where the ruler made a rare gesture of hospitality by driving the 94-year-old to the airport in a first edition Proton Saga.
That did not stop Tunku Ismail from continuing his criticism of Mahathir’s administration, to which Mahathir responded early this month with his strongest attack yet on the vocal prince, calling him “stupid” and a “little boy”.
