Thread by @olliekarp

In today's #dailysoup, I'll introduce the current Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail. He is known for his versatile business investments and "reclamation projects, including the controversial Princess Cove and Forest City.

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Sultan Ibrahim Ismail is the son of Sultan Iskandar, who served as a Sultan of Johor and a Yang di-Pertuan Agong (monarch) of Malaysia before his death in 2010.

This is why his full name is Sultan Ibrahim Ismail ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar.

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Although Sultan Ibrahim Ismail succeeded his father as the Sultan of Johor in January 2010, he was officially coronated in March 23, 2015.

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As a part of Sultan Ibrahim's "Iskandar Malaysia" development plan, he managed to promote improvements in Johorean economic development, education, sports development, and even cultural development.

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Moreover, Sultan Ibrahim, despite his allowance of RM27,000, invested in many businesses such as a telecom company, retail stores, technology companies, energy companies, and a KL shopping centre named "Berjaya Times Square".

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However, Sultan Ibrahim has been involved in a few controversial projects, including the Princess Cove project near the Malaysia-Singapore causeway, as well as "reclamation projects" at the Strait of Johor, with one of them being Forest City.

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In December 2013, Sultan Ibrahim sold 116 acres of land at Tanjung Puteri, just beside the Malaysia-Singapore causeway, to Guangzhou-based R&F Properties for RM4.5B, entering a joint venture with the company. This is now known as the Princess Cove project.

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However, Sultan Ibrahim was grilled by the Malaysian public about how the sale of Princess Cove "suddenly doubled to RM4.5B", especially when the land was previously owned by the local government of Johor when it bought the land for RM200M. His response was vague.

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Moreover, Sultan Ibrahim's Princess Cove happened during the time when the number of mainland Chinese real estate projects in Malaysia rose, especially coz they were looking for cleaner air and a more affordable alternative to Singapore. Hence,...

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...this sparked concerns among Malaysians of an "increase in rent prices", while some expressed concerns that Sultan Ibrahim is "selling a piece of Johor to China".

He tried to defend his business deals by saying "I buy shares. I sell shares. I study about shares".

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Meanwhile, Sultan Ibrahim is also known for being the initiator of a BRI project called Forest City.

Despite generating jobs and investments for the Malaysian state of Johor, the BRI project became a white elephant. Read more here:

https://twitter.com/olliekarp/status/1653134200835538944?s=20

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Especially when Forest City is a BRI project involving a Chinese firm, Malaysian media hid the fact that one of Forest City's developers is Esplanade Danga 88, owned by Sultan Ibrahim, by stating that the project is a JV...

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...between the Chinese firm and KPRJ, which owns only 20% of Sultan Ibrahim's company.

Citing the reasons related to "it's good for the Johorean economy", Sultan Ibrahim and his associates were known for allowing Forest City to bypass basic approval x regulatory measures.

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Sultan Ibrahim, while claiming to "emphasise the importance of environmental issues", accused Putrajaya for "meddling on Johor's affairs" when Forest City ironically received flak for environmental degradation.

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Moreover, a Malaysian insider discovered that workers in the project defied Forest City's 2014 suspension by continuing the construction of the project.

Other concerns on Forest City include its proximity to a rival port and its obstruction of the Strait of Johor.

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Meanwhile, Sultan Ibrahim is also involved in other reclamation projects in Johor, including Benalec Holdings reclamation projects at Penarang, located E of Singapore, and Tanjung Piai, located W of Singapore.

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Moreover, Sultan Ibrahim is involved in a reclamation project at Muar, located just SE of Malacca.

However, the 2022 Johor State election distracted Malaysian officials from checking the project as a part of due diligence, so the project went through without going...

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...through formal approval x regulatory measures, while public consultation on the project was virtually absent.

Moreover, the Muar project faced concerns related to environmental degradation, especially to fisherfolk living in Muar.

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Meanwhile, Sultan Ibrahim and the Johor royal family have been in a long-time dispute with former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, prolonged by issues like the Malaysia-Singapore dispute on Pedra Branca Island and Najib's support of Sultan Ibrahim's "Iskandar Malaysia".

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Then, after Mahathir accused Sultan Ibrahim for "selling a portion of Johor to China via Forest City", Sultan Ibrahim accused Mahathir for "putting political interests first before Malaysian interests".

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Related entries:
Entry #57 (Forest City) -

https://twitter.com/olliekarp/status/1653134200835538944?s=20

Entry #55 (Belt and Road Initiative) -

https://twitter.com/olliekarp/status/1652398339160440833?s=20

For other entries, kindly visit this link: bit.ly/thedailysoup