Anwar Ibrahim calls for Malay royalty to stay out of Johor state election campaign

Prime Minister and Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim warned that political parties should not involve Malaysia’s constitutional monarchs in the Johor state election. Speaking at the PH candidate announcement in Bukit Gambir, he emphasised that the electoral contest must remain a competition between parties, not a tool for invoking royal institutions.

Anwar said he had met with the Johor Crown Prince, Tunku Mahkota Ismail, to reaffirm the government’s respectful relationship with the Malay royalty and to discuss federal development initiatives for the state. He described the monarchy as a constitutional entity with clear limits in a parliamentary democracy and urged parties to keep campaign rhetoric focused on policy, not royal titles.