SHAH ALAM - Johor was the first state to sign the MacMichael Agreement, ceding the state to the British, says former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said that under the agreement, the Sultan controlled only the administration of Islamic religious matters and Malay customs.
Dr Mahathir stated that the agreement could be annulled when the Malays across the Malay Peninsula united under an organisation called the United Malays National Organisation, better known as Umno, and had protest and rejected the MacMichael Agreement and the Malayan Union.
"Thus, when all the Malays from all the states united, the British were forced to yield to their demands.
"The Malays' demand was for the Federation of Malaya to replace the Malayan Union.
"The Rulers were then reinstated as Constitutional Monarchs in a Parliamentary Democracy. Such is history. (All this is found in the verbatim report on the Malayan Union from the British Archives)," said Dr Mahathir in a post on his social media account on Wednesday.
Dr Mahathir's statement is seen as a response to the decree issued by the Acting Sultan of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, regarding reforms to the Federal system with Johor being treated as a partner and not a possession of Malaysia.
Previously in a podcast session, Tunku Ismail urged for reforms to the Federal system with Johor being treated as a partner and suggested that political parties in the state unite in a coalition known as ‘Gabungan Bangsa Johor’ to safeguard the state's interests.
Referencing the governing coalition in Sarawak under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak, which comprises several political parties, Tunku Ismail said the state has utilised this advantage to negotiate more effectively with Federal authorities.
On Monday, during an exclusive interview with Dr Mahathir, he had expressed his disagreement with Tunku Ismail, popularly known as TMJ, stating that these "ideas" could have serious implications for the country's constitutional framework and stability.
"He has released his statement, and it's not something we can welcome. We have set up Malaysia as a Federation. He (Tunku Ismail) seems to think that Malaysia should have one monarch and things like that.
"That is going to change our constitution, and that is not wise because when you do that, the whole country will crumble," he said.