The Malaysian Insight

JOHOR Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s “senile” remark, believed to be directed at Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has amused a number of social media users, including those who are not fans of the veteran politician.

But some also felt the remark made by the crown prince on Twitter via his handle @HRHJohorII to be too much.

“Sedap cakap…kita takkan tua? (Easy to talk like that…won’t we grow old too?)” Azis Yusoff remarked on The Malaysian Insight comments section.

On Facebook, Ju Lee wrote: “Not cool to attack him over his age. Yes, he’s old but far from senile. I doubt any of us would be as capable at his age.”

Dr Mahathir is 93, the oldest prime minister in the world. He returned to office in May after leading Pakatan Harapan into victory in the 14th general election.

In a direct comment on Tunku Ismail’s tweet, Ir MFMS (@mdfdmdsd) also said: “Cool… Kita pun akan tua jugak…(we will also grow old.)”

Meanwhile, Prem (@PREMPUCHONG) remarked: “Dah low level dah ni (this is low).”

Tunku Ismail, popularly known as TMJ (short for Tunku Mahkota Johor), had earlier posted a series of attacks on Twitter apparently targeted at Dr Mahathir over the degazettement of Pulau Kukup as a national park.

“Who is developing Pulau Kukup?? Dah terangkan 4 times… ow i see.. Nyanyuk! (I’ve explained it four times. Oh, I see… Senile!)

“It’s okay. Malaikat pun salah. (Even angels can be wrong) Picasso, control your grandpa,” he tweeted.

Over the weekend, Tunku Ismail said the island would be better protected as crown land, as opposed to being controlled by outsiders if it remained a national park.

Dr Mahathir rebutted his statement today, saying: “Malaysians are not outsiders. The federal government is not an outsider. We are responsible for all things in the country.”

Another TMI reader, TTs Take, said the crown prince’s remarks showed that he did not understand the subject matter.

“His comments are frivolous… no content, no value… just doesn’t know how to reply to the senior statesman. Most importantly it shows his immaturity… after all, he is young,” he wrote.

Another reader SL said: “TMJ, when you cannot answer with facts and reason, you use sarcastic words.”

On Twitter, Shakarock (@areball72) remarked “like boys quarrelling” in his response to Tunku Ismail’s tweet.

“Grandpa is not senile. Grandpa @chedetofficial is a legend. Respect others, be humble okay… people are watching. Not to mention Allah too.”

(Mcm bdk2 plk gaduh kn…lol. Atuk x nyanyuk lar….Atuk @chedetofficial  legend. Respect others be humble ok….people are watching. Not to mention Allah too.)

Another Twitter user, Firdaus Abd Muttalib, (@firdausabdmutt1) told Shakarock to “tell that to Grandpa” who was “the one picking fights with everyone”.
In his reply, Shakarock said Grandpa was old and had no time for fights, adding that it was normal for “boys” to dislike being reprimanded by Grandpa.

(Lolz….Atuk dh tue lh, dia x de masa nk gaduh2 nie…n biase lh bila atuk ckp mesti bdk2 sentap hati maklum lh bdk2 mmg hati keras x nk kne tgur….kn kn…hormat kt Atuk nnti die mare btol2 teruk nnti kang….)

Hakim N9 (@hakim80) in his tweet said Pulau Kukup should not be developed but kept as a forest reserve, particularly as it was a special mangrove forest.

Thilakavathi Srinivasan on Facebook also commented that Dr Mahathir was far from senile, adding that nature should be preserved.

Another Facebook user, Leong See Foon, told Thilakavathi that nature was not the real issue.

“TMJ wanted total control over the island for something he had in mind. LOL (laugh out loud).

“Waiting for the viral backlash from netizens. LOL,” Leong remarked in his comment.

Meanwhile, those who had enjoyed Tunku Ismail’s tweets praised him, like Megat (@coachmegat), who urged the crown prince to continue speaking up.

“@HRHJohorII inspired a lot of youngsters to voice their opinions,” he said.

“Cool tunku. Your level is way above him… Toksah layan (no need to entertain),” Hafiz (@sirfeatzalot) tweeted.

Zammshamrin (@zammshamrin) said it was time for the sultans to control the administration again.

“Politicians are all about enriching themselves…not benefiting the people,” he tweeted.

Others found the crown prince’s “Picasso” reference funny, like Sean Lum (@SeanLum2), who asked if Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was the one Tunku Ismail meant.

“@SyedSaddiq bro, are you that PICASSO?” he tweeted, tagging the young minister, who is also the Muar MP from Johor.

Shahrin Niza Mahmud (@Shahrinniza1) said “Picasso” must be having a headache being stuck between Tunku Ismail and the old man, his boss.

“I’m sure Picasso must be headache at this time. Between Tunku and old man (boss).” – December 10, 2018.