Ibrahim Ismail of Johor
|DYMM Sultan Ibrahim|
|Sultan Dan Yang Dipertuan Bagi Negeri Dan Jajahan Takluk Johor Darul Ta'zim|
|Reign||23 January 2010 – present|
|Spouse||Raja Zarith Sofia|
|1. Tunku Ismail Idris
2. Tunku Aminah
3. Tunku Idris
4. Tunku Abdul Jalil
5. Tunku Abdul Rahman
6. Tunku Abu Bakar
|Ibrahim Ismail Ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Iskandar Al-Haj|
|House||House of Temenggong|
(née Josephine Trevorrow)
22 November 1958 |
Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaya
|Monarchical styles of
The Sultanate of Johor
|Reference style||His Royal Highness|
|Spoken style||Your Royal Highness|
Sultan Ibrahim Ismail (born 22 November 1958) is the 25th and incumbent Sultan of Johor. He is the son of Sultan Iskandar. A motorcycle enthusiast, Sultan Ibrahim is well known as the founder of the annual motorcycling tour event, Kembara Mahkota Johor.
Sultan Ibrahim Ismail was born on 22 November 1958 as the eldest son of Sultan Iskandar by his first wife Josephine Ruby Trevorrow, of English ethnicity from Torquay, whom Sultan Iskandar (then Tunku Mahmud) met while he was studying in England. Trevorrow, a proprietor by profession, took on the name of "Kalsom binti Abdullah" for a time following her marriage to Tunku Iskandar. His mother has since remarried and lives in England.
Tunku Ibrahim was born at Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Bahru. The late Sultan Iskandar sent him to studied in Trinity Grammar School Australia from 1968 until 1970. After finishing his studies, he was sent to Pusat Latihan Tentera Darat (PULADA) in Kota Tinggi for the basic military training. He also received military training in the US–at Fort Benning, Georgia and later at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Tunku Ibrahim Ismail was appointed as the Tunku Mahkota of Johor on 4 July 1981, and had been primarily residing at Istana Pasir Pelangi since then. Tunku Ibrahim was the regent of Johor between 26 April 1984 and 25 April 1989 when his father served his term as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia. In recent years, Tunku Ibrahim gradually took over some of the state duties and functions from his aging father; these included the 211th Conference of Rulers, whereby Tunku Ibrahim and Tengku Abdullah, the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang represented their fathers in the meetings, among some other state functions.
Sultan of Johor
A few hours before his father's demise on 22 January 2010, Tunku Ibrahim was appointed as the Regent of Johor, following medical reports that suggested of Sultan Iskandar's pending demise. Sultan Iskandar died on the same night, and Tunku Ibrahim was installed as the Sultan of Johor the following morning. The Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Johor, Abdul Ghani Othman cited that Sultan Ibrahim and immediate members of the royal family will undertake a mourning period of 40 days. During the mourning season, Sultan Ibrahim made his inaugural presence at the Conference of Rulers in February 2010 as the Sultan of Johor.
On 1 July 2011, Sultan Ibrahim drove the last train from Tanjong Pagar railway station, having received tuition from Chief Locomotive Inspector Hasnol Azahari Aman of Keretapi Tanah Melayu to enable him to do this. He stated that he wished to do this as his grandfather, Ismail of Johor had opened the causeway between Singapore and Malaya in 1923, and that it was appropriate that he should drive the last train out of the station.
Sultan Ibrahim became the first Johor Ruler to celebrate his birthday celebration in Muar on 22 November 2012 as it is his beloved town. He picks the town because it is "rich in history and tradition besides being peaceful, beautiful and progressive". He wanted the state government to gazette all the old buildings in the town as a state heritage. He also wants the local authorities to preserve the cleaniness of Sungai Muar which could be done by relocating the bus and taxi terminals elsewhere.
He will have his coronation ceremony as the Sultan of Johor on 5 May 2014
Marriage and children
- Tunku Ismail Idris Abdul Majid Abu Bakar (born 30 June 1984). He was appointed the Raja Muda in April 2006 by Sultan Iskandar, and became the Tunku Mahkota upon Sultan Ibrahim's accession.
- Tunku Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah (born c. 1987)
- Tunku Idris (born c. 1988) The Tunku Temenggong of Johor. He was appointed as the Regent of Johor during the absence of his father and the Raja Muda on 29 September 2012.
- Tunku Abdul Jalil (born c. 1990) The Tunku Laksamana of Johor
- Tunku Abdul Rahman (born c. 1993) The Tunku Panglima of Johor
- Tunku Abu Bakar (born c. 2001) The Tunku Putera of Johor
Allegations of criminal misconduct
Occasional reports of alleged criminal misconduct from the 1980s onwards marred Tunku Ibrahim's reputation somewhat, albeit to a much lesser extent than his father, Sultan Iskandar, whose past actions had received considerable attention from mainstream media. In the 1980s, he was convicted of shooting dead a man in a nightclub during a feud, but was quickly pardoned.
In late 1992 to early 1993, Tunku Ibrahim also experienced fallouts of the Gomez Incident–in which his father and younger brother, Tunku Majid were accused of two separate but related incidences of assault which provoked a moral outrage nationwide and ultimately resulting in constitutional amendments allowing members of the royalty to be prosecuted for criminal wrongdoings. During that period of time, the press, which was supported by the Malaysian government, launched a series of vociferous press reports on the history of alleged incidences of royal wrongdoings, of which parliamentarians highlighted that Tunku Ibrahim had been convicted in at least two cases of assault in the 1980s. This included a victim who was allegedly assaulted by Tunku Ibrahim, Rahim Mohd Nor, who went so far as to describe his assault experience as an act of sadism by Tunku Ibrahim.
In March 2005, a member of the Malaysian royalty allegedly assaulted a young woman by the name of Yasmin with whom he accused of two-timing him with another policeman. The victim's father, Mohd Yasin, later lodged a police report which claimed that the assault culprit was Tunku Ibrahim, the Tunku Mahkota of Johor.
Shortly before Filipino politician Benigno Aquino's assassination in August 1983, Tunku Ibrahim met Aquino upon his arrival in Singapore and later brought him to meet other Malaysian leaders across the Causeway. Once in Johor, Aquino met Tunku Ibrahim's father, Sultan Iskandar, who was a close friend of Aquino's.
In October 2005, a brawl occurred on Pulau Rawa after a Johor prince allegedly gatecrashed a wedding party. The prince ordered some guests off the island after a fight broke out when a woman refused to dance with one of the gatecrashers. The locals, who felt offended by the woman's attitude, went off but soon returned with golf clubs and weapons and started a fight. In the process, several people were injured and sent to hospital, while five others were arrested, including a 20-year-old prince from the Johor royal family. The names of the culprits were not released by the police, who chose to retain the confidentiality of the attackers. The Tunku Mahkota issued a press statement to urge the culprits to apologise to the affected guests.
The following June, press reports leaked that Tunku Ibrahim had chalked RM 26,700 worth of unpaid traffic fines since 2000, causing much embarrassment to the crown prince. A later report quoted him settling all the past fines with the traffic police.
Titles and styles
Sultan Ibrahim's full style and title is: Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Ibrahim Ismail ibni Sultan Iskandar, Sultan and Ruler of the State and Dependencies of Johor Darul Ta'zim.
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|Sultan of Johor