KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — Johor’s sovereignty, Islam, and Malay privileges must be protected from outsiders who hide behind human rights, Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said today.

The Johor Sultan also urged newly sworn in Mentri Besar Dr Sahruddin Jamal from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) to focus on river pollution to ensure clean raw water supply.

"I would also like to advise the government not to waste time by talking about unbeneficial matters, defaming and making up stories simply to get attention or to confuse the people.

"Instead, focus on helping the difficult lives of the people and on improving the national economy,” Sultan Ibrahim said in a statement.

The Ruler said the Johor government has long existed and had its own customs and method of governance.

"There is no need for outsiders to jump around talking about who is the powerful one and how to govern the state of Johor.”

Dr Sahruddin replaced Datuk Osman Sapian as Johor mentri besar after the latter abruptly quit this week, less than a year in office.

Osman’s resignation had triggered a verbal spat between the Johor royal family and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over who had the authority to appoint the new mentri besar.

The Johor royalty also previously clashed with Pakatan Harapan (PH) over Malaysia’s accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which the federal government later withdrew.