Johor DT owner Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim is expected to compete for the top job at Football Association of Malaysia after earning the permission of his father, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
According to a statement released on Johor Southern Tigers’ Facebook page, individuals representing a host of different affiliates within FAM held an audience with the Johor ruler earlier today. And after a period of discussion, Sultan Ibrahim gave his son the ‘green light’ to compete for the role and ‘save’ Malaysian football.
“HRH Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, Sultan of Johor, granted an audience to affiliate members on February 6th 2017 at the polo club at the Pasir Pelangi Palace. The delegates of the FAM affiliate members were at the Pasir Pelangi Palace in Johor to seek consent from the Sultan of Johor for the presidency nomination of HRH Brigadier General Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Crown Prince of Johor, at the national football congress this March to lead the FAM and change the local football scene,” the statement read.
“When HRH Sultan of Johor asked HRH Crown Prince of Johor, His Royal Highness replied, “I will follow Tuanku’s command”. And HRH Sultan of Johor said to HRH Crown Prince of Johor, “Change Malaysian football.”
This shift in narrative comes as a surprise, considering TMJ has always maintained that he wouldn’t be able to objectively run FAM, as a result of his sense of biasedness towards Johor football.
Having said that, this news effectively puts TMJ in the driving seat for the role, with a large majority of affiliates keen on him replacing Tengku Abdullah as the new FAM president.
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