PROGRESSIVE: Temenggong Ibrahim and his heirs, with flair and ingenuity, put the state on the world map
JOHOR BAHRU: THE kingdom of Johor that once included Singapore and the Riau islands was ruled by three dynasties. Descendants of the Malacca Sultanate established a settlement at Johor River in 1528 and ruled Johor for 170 years that ended with the regicide of Sultan Mahmood in 1699. (The incident is famously known as Marhum Mangkat Dijulang).
As Sultan Mahmood did not have an heir, the kingdom passed on to the Bendahara or Chief Minister in the court of the previous dynasty.
The Bendahara dynasty ruled Johor till the early 19th century when the British appointed Tengku Hussain as Sultan of Johor.
Prior to that, in 1806 Temenggong Abdul Rahman was installed as one of the powerful chiefs of Riao. The British appointed Temenggong Abdul Rahman whom they considered as more influential as Chief of Singapore in 1818. The appointment saw the rise of the Temenggong dynasty.
Daing Ibrahim was installed by the British as the Temenggong's successor. Sultan Hussain's son and successor Tengku Ali, who led an extravagant lifestyle, ceded the state and government of Johor except the province of Kesang north of the Muar River to Temenggong Ibrahim in 1855 with financial consideration.
This cessation marked the beginning of modern Johor, founded by Temenggong Ibrahim and consolidated by his son Abu Bakar.
The Temenggong was self-educated in English, learning the intricacies of business and management from officers of the East India Company.
He established the first bureaucratic offices of the Johor administration in Telok Belanga. His swashbuckling exploits in the amelioration of piracy in Singapore and Riau waters earned him the moniker Prince of Pirates and a jewelled sword from Queen Victoria.
Abu Bakar reinforced the bureaucratic offices that he moved to Iskandar Puteri, which he renamed Johor Bahru, in 1866. He instituted the land and survey department, the police and courts, finance and customs, health and education all designed to impress the British and prevent them from meddling into the affairs of his state.
He formed the State Council (Dewan Negeri), the first in Malaya, which became a platform for Malays to formulate policies and procedures without interference or advice from the British. He obtained recognition from the British through a Treaty of Friendship in 1885 as the Sultan of Johor. Through these strategies, Abu Bakar was able to defend Johor's independence for 33 consecutive years.
Abu Bakar, known as the Father of Modern Johor, is credited among others, with introducing the first railway in Malaya in 1868, forming the first armed forces the Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri (1886), instituting the first orders of chivalry (1886), and promulgating the first State Constitution (1895). He was the first internationally recognised Malay, and the first Malay Ruler to be received by Queen Victoria in London, and the first Malay and Ruler to have an audience with Pope Leo XIII in 1885.
He was the first Malay ruler to have a crown. His coronation on July 29, 1886 was the first-ever held for a Malay Ruler.
The fierce Bugis blood that flowed in the veins of Sultan Sir Ibrahim matched his exploits to that of his father Abu Bakar. He was a soldier, big-game hunter, and world traveller.
He was shipwrecked in 1899, charged by a wounded seladang while hunting, faced armed Sepoy mutineers unarmed (1915) and was detained by the French police after a secret meeting with Adolf Hitler (1938). His Diamond Jubilee in 1955 was a world record as the longest serving monarch then. He pursued the development of Johor with vigour and determination. He realised his father's dream by reluctantly permitting the FMS railway to traverse Johor, with the causeway as a natural progression to the railway transport.
He set up the Johor Volunteer Forces that became a pool for talented Malay officers to be seconded into the civil service.
He declined invitation to be the first Yang DiPertuan Agong citing ill health but in truth he was against the formation of the Federation.
Ibrahim's son Ismail made a record for himself for being the youngest to be appointed heir at the age of one, and waited for 54 years before ascending the throne. His reign saw an accelerated development of infrastructure in Johor including schools, roads and bridges, port and airport, and alleviating quality of life in rural areas.
The next Sultan of Johor was born Tunku Mahmood Iskandar. He was demoted and excluded from the position of heir in 1961 purportedly to satisfy political clamour. He suffered ignominy for 20 years before being reinstated and ascended the throne as Sultan Iskandar. He was elected into the office of the Yang DiPertuan Agong in 1984.
His reign saw the regional development of Desaru and Iskandar that provided impetus to a holistic development of the state. He established the Iskandar Foundation for scholarships for higher degrees funded entirely from his emoluments as the Agong. He set up the Temenggong Abdul Rahman Foundation from his emoluments as the Sultan of Johor to offer financial assistance to qualified and needy students from Johor. He set a record of sorts by not wanting to be crowned.
Sultan Ibrahim, the fifth Sultan of Johor, is an accomplished yachtsman, horseman and polo player and excels in extreme sports. He is licensed to fly fixed wing and rotary aircraft and is the only Ruler licensed to drive a locomotive.
He was trained by the US Special Forces earning the trademark green beret and wings as a commando after completing 19 parachute jumps, of which eight were night jumps.
He is the first and only Malay Ruler to embark on an annual journey throughout the state to rub shoulders with his people. The trademark Kembara Mahkota that started in 2001 is his brainchild.
Crown Prince Tunku Ismail created history when he was chosen by the President of India as the first foreigner, Malay and royal to lead the Indian Republic Day parade on Jan 26, 2007 in Jaipur, witnessed among others by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and Vladimir Putin, President of Russia.
Tunku Ismail is an international-class polo player and has participated in polo tournaments in England, India and Argentina. He is credited with successfully reviving football in Johor to greater heights, with his brand "JDT" the acronym for Johor Darul Ta'zim.
Dato' Abdul Rahim Ramli is secretary of the Council of the Royal Court.
JOHOR BAHRU: THE kingdom of Johor that once included Singapore and the Riau islands was ruled by three dynasties. Descendants of the Malacca Sultanate established a settlement at Johor River in 1528 and ruled Johor for 170 years that ended with the regicide of Sultan Mahmood in 1699. (The incident is famously known as Marhum Mangkat Dijulang).
As Sultan Mahmood did not have an heir, the kingdom passed on to the Bendahara or Chief Minister in the court of the previous dynasty.
The Bendahara dynasty ruled Johor till the early 19th century when the British appointed Tengku Hussain as Sultan of Johor.
Prior to that, in 1806 Temenggong Abdul Rahman was installed as one of the powerful chiefs of Riao. The British appointed Temenggong Abdul Rahman whom they considered as more influential as Chief of Singapore in 1818. The appointment saw the rise of the Temenggong dynasty.
Daing Ibrahim was installed by the British as the Temenggong's successor. Sultan Hussain's son and successor Tengku Ali, who led an extravagant lifestyle, ceded the state and government of Johor except the province of Kesang north of the Muar River to Temenggong Ibrahim in 1855 with financial consideration.
This cessation marked the beginning of modern Johor, founded by Temenggong Ibrahim and consolidated by his son Abu Bakar.
The Temenggong was self-educated in English, learning the intricacies of business and management from officers of the East India Company.
He established the first bureaucratic offices of the Johor administration in Telok Belanga. His swashbuckling exploits in the amelioration of piracy in Singapore and Riau waters earned him the moniker Prince of Pirates and a jewelled sword from Queen Victoria.
Abu Bakar reinforced the bureaucratic offices that he moved to Iskandar Puteri, which he renamed Johor Bahru, in 1866. He instituted the land and survey department, the police and courts, finance and customs, health and education all designed to impress the British and prevent them from meddling into the affairs of his state.
He formed the State Council (Dewan Negeri), the first in Malaya, which became a platform for Malays to formulate policies and procedures without interference or advice from the British. He obtained recognition from the British through a Treaty of Friendship in 1885 as the Sultan of Johor. Through these strategies, Abu Bakar was able to defend Johor's independence for 33 consecutive years.
Abu Bakar, known as the Father of Modern Johor, is credited among others, with introducing the first railway in Malaya in 1868, forming the first armed forces the Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri (1886), instituting the first orders of chivalry (1886), and promulgating the first State Constitution (1895). He was the first internationally recognised Malay, and the first Malay Ruler to be received by Queen Victoria in London, and the first Malay and Ruler to have an audience with Pope Leo XIII in 1885.
He was the first Malay ruler to have a crown. His coronation on July 29, 1886 was the first-ever held for a Malay Ruler.
The fierce Bugis blood that flowed in the veins of Sultan Sir Ibrahim matched his exploits to that of his father Abu Bakar. He was a soldier, big-game hunter, and world traveller.
He was shipwrecked in 1899, charged by a wounded seladang while hunting, faced armed Sepoy mutineers unarmed (1915) and was detained by the French police after a secret meeting with Adolf Hitler (1938). His Diamond Jubilee in 1955 was a world record as the longest serving monarch then. He pursued the development of Johor with vigour and determination. He realised his father's dream by reluctantly permitting the FMS railway to traverse Johor, with the causeway as a natural progression to the railway transport.
He set up the Johor Volunteer Forces that became a pool for talented Malay officers to be seconded into the civil service.
He declined invitation to be the first Yang DiPertuan Agong citing ill health but in truth he was against the formation of the Federation.
Ibrahim's son Ismail made a record for himself for being the youngest to be appointed heir at the age of one, and waited for 54 years before ascending the throne. His reign saw an accelerated development of infrastructure in Johor including schools, roads and bridges, port and airport, and alleviating quality of life in rural areas.
The next Sultan of Johor was born Tunku Mahmood Iskandar. He was demoted and excluded from the position of heir in 1961 purportedly to satisfy political clamour. He suffered ignominy for 20 years before being reinstated and ascended the throne as Sultan Iskandar. He was elected into the office of the Yang DiPertuan Agong in 1984.
His reign saw the regional development of Desaru and Iskandar that provided impetus to a holistic development of the state. He established the Iskandar Foundation for scholarships for higher degrees funded entirely from his emoluments as the Agong. He set up the Temenggong Abdul Rahman Foundation from his emoluments as the Sultan of Johor to offer financial assistance to qualified and needy students from Johor. He set a record of sorts by not wanting to be crowned.
Sultan Ibrahim, the fifth Sultan of Johor, is an accomplished yachtsman, horseman and polo player and excels in extreme sports. He is licensed to fly fixed wing and rotary aircraft and is the only Ruler licensed to drive a locomotive.
He was trained by the US Special Forces earning the trademark green beret and wings as a commando after completing 19 parachute jumps, of which eight were night jumps.
He is the first and only Malay Ruler to embark on an annual journey throughout the state to rub shoulders with his people. The trademark Kembara Mahkota that started in 2001 is his brainchild.
Crown Prince Tunku Ismail created history when he was chosen by the President of India as the first foreigner, Malay and royal to lead the Indian Republic Day parade on Jan 26, 2007 in Jaipur, witnessed among others by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and Vladimir Putin, President of Russia.
Tunku Ismail is an international-class polo player and has participated in polo tournaments in England, India and Argentina. He is credited with successfully reviving football in Johor to greater heights, with his brand "JDT" the acronym for Johor Darul Ta'zim.
Dato' Abdul Rahim Ramli is secretary of the Council of the Royal Court.
