Anwar: TMJ calling for PM to resign is interfering with the govt

GEORGE TOWN: The call by the Johor Crown Prince for the Prime Minister to be removed is an act of interference with the government, says PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.He pointed out that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had the mandate of the people and that the Federal Constitution must be upheld.

“The Prime Minister is right in giving a clear message that the Constitution must be honoured and he represents the new government with a new mandate of the people,” Anwar told reporters after meeting the Penang premium business enterprise group at the Penang International Commercial City in Bayan Baru here yesterday.

He also said it was the duty of government leaders to support Dr Mahathir and ensure that he was effective in governing the country.

“The Prime Minister is guided by the Constitution and he has a bigger task.

“It is our duty to ensure that he is effective in that task,” he added.

Anwar was responding to a video recording of Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, who is popularly known as TMJ, saying the Prime Minister should be replaced.

In the video, Tunku Ismail is seen leaving Larkin Stadium after a football match in which Johor Darul Ta’zim lost 0-1 to Shandong Luneng in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday.

The vehicle ferrying him stops when a fan shouts “Change Mora”, in reference to the football club’s coach Benjamin Mora.

Tunku Ismail, who is seated in the front passenger seat of the car, is then seen peering out of the window and retorting: “Instead of changing Mora, it’s better to change the Prime Minister.”

The relationship between Putra­jaya and the Johor royal family became rocky after the Pakatan Harapan government withdrew from ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court earlier this month, with Dr Mahathir citing “confusion arising politically and within society”.

Dr Mahathir, who had responded to the jibe from Tunku Ismail earlier, said only the people could remove him as Prime Minis­ter.

He also reminded TMJ that his post was “not permanent”.