Sultan Ismail of Johor
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From Johor Bahru Directory
| Sultan Ismail was the 23rd Sultan of Johor and the 3rd Sultan of Modern Johor, reigning for 22 years from 1959 to 1981. |
| Fast Facts | |
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| Reign | 1959–1981 |
| Coronation | 10 February 1960 |
| Predecessor | Sultan Ibrahim |
| Successor | Sultan Iskandar |
| Full name: | |
| Ismail Al-Khalidi ibn Ibrahim Al-Masyhur | |
| Spouse | Sultanah Tun Aminah (1920-77) Sultanah Nora (1977-81) |
| House | House of Temenggong [1] |
| Father | Sultan Ibrahim |
| Born | October 28, 1894 Istana Semayam, Johor |
| Died | May 10, 1981 (aged 86) Johor Bahru, Johor |
| Burial | Makam Mahmoodiah |
Sultan Ismail Al-Khalidi ibni Ibrahim Al-Masyhur (28 October 1894 - 10 May 1981) was the 23rd Sultan of Johor, reigning for 22 years from 8 May 1959 until his death in 1981. An animal lover, he was instrumental in the setting up of the Johor Zoo.
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2. Early life: Tunku Ismail was born in Istana Semayam, Johor Bahru, the eldest son of Tunku Ibrahim (later Sultan Ibrahim) and his first wife, Sultanah Ungku Maimunah. When he was only one year old, his grandfather, Sultan Abu Bakar, passed away and he was made the Tunku Mahkota of Johor. Tunku Ismail spent several years of his early life in Perak, where he attended the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. In 1912, then age 17, Tunku Ismail was sent to England to receive his tertiary education in a boarding school. At age 25 in 1920, he married his second cousin, Ungku Tun Aminah. As his father began to spend more time traveling overseas, Tunku Ismail was made the state's regent in 1928, then age 33, to take care of state affairs.
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3. World War II and Independence of Malaya: Shortly before the Japanese armies occupied Johor during the Japanese Invasion of Malaya in 1941, Tunku Ismail fled to England, for fear that the Japanese military government may manipulate him onto the throne in his father's stead. He returned to Johor after the war and was confronted with Malay nationalist movements which had erupted as a result of widespread dissatisfaction over the British's Malayan Union scheme. While his father, Sultan Ibrahim, encountered widespread criticisms from the Malay grassroots and nationalist leaders, due to his initial willingness to sign the Malayan Union scheme treaties, Tunku Ismail maintained a neutral relations between the British government and the Malay nationalist leaders. In May 1946, he officiated the opening ceremony of the United Malays National Organisation's (UMNO) first congress which was held at Istana Besar, while Sultan Ibrahim was residing in London.
During the late 1940s and 1950s, Tunku Ismail took over the responsibility of state affairs and represented his father at official functions. Pending Malaya's declaration of independence, he was one of the 9 signatories at the royal signing ceremony of the Malaya's Federal Constitution on 27 August 1957. Nevertheless, he faced mild opposition from a few Johor nationalist leaders, notably Ungku Abdullah, the party leader of Persatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Johor (PKMJ) which advocated Johor's secession from Malaya. Ungku Abdullah had called for Tunku Ismail to boycott the signing ceremony, but his attempts were quickly turned down.[2]
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4. As Sultan of Johor: On 8 May 1959, Tunku Ismail became the Sultan of Johor, and his eldest surviving son, Tunku Mahmud Iskandar, was appointed Tunku Mahkota when Sultan Ibrahim passed away in London. He was crowned on 10 February 1960 at the Istana Besar in Johor Bahru, the last Johor Sultan to be officially crowned. In August 1961, Sultan Ismail stripped Tunku Mahmud Iskandar of the post of Tunku Mahkota, after the latter allegedly incarcerated a policeman.[3] He appointed his second son, Tunku Abdul Rahman (1933–1989) to become the Tunku Mahkota in December 1966, with Tunku Mahmud Iskandar becoming the Raja Muda, putting him second in line to the throne.
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5. Car accident: In 1976, both Sultan Ismail and his wife, Sultanah Tun Aminah, met with a car accident in Muar. While Sultanah Tun Aminah was left permanently in a vegetative state until her death in 1977, owing to severe brain damage, the Sultan escaped with only minor injuries. In October 1978, Sultan Ismail married Sultanah Tengku Nora of the Kelantanese royal household who is the sister of Tengku Zanariah (now Sultanah), the spouse of Tunku Mahmud Iskandar, his eldest surviving son.[4] In 1978, Tunku Mahmud Iskandar was again charged, this time for manslaughter,[5] after shooting a man near his private helicopter whom he took to be a smuggler. Sultan Ismail intervened when he was convicted and granted him an official pardon.[6][7][8]
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6. Illness and death: In April 1981, Sultan Ismail is said to have reappointed Tunku Mahmud Iskandar as the Tunku Mahkota. Some eyewitnesses, however, challenged the legitimacy of the reappointment, arguing that they had witnessed that Sultan Ismail had already lapsed into coma at the time of the alleged reappointment.[9] Sultan Ismail passed away on 10 May and Tunku Mahmud Iskandar was proclaimed the succeeding Sultan of Johor.
