| Abdul Majid | |
|---|---|
| Spouse | Tunku Teh Mazni Binti Tunku Yusuf[1] |
| Issue | |
| 1. Tunku Mahmood Iskandar[2]
2. Tunku Aisha Menjalara Iskandar |
|
| House | House of Temenggong[3] |
| Father | Sultan Iskandar |
| Mother | Sultanah Zanariah |
| Born | 20 July 1970 Johor Bahru, Johor |
Tunku Abdul Majid Idris Ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Iskandar Al-Haj[4][5][6] (born 20 July 1970, Johor Bahru)[7] is the Tunku Bendahara of Johor. A sports enthuasiast, Tunku Majid has served honorary positions in a few notable sports associations in Malaysia, including the President of the Malaysian Golf Association[8] and Deputy President of the Malaysian Hockey Federation.[9] Nevertheless, a high-profile notorious incident in 1992 which saw Tunku Majid allegedly assaulting a hockey coach culminated in the stripping of legal immunity among members of the royalty and briefly generated controversy within public circles.[10]
He is the half-brother of the current Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail.
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Tunku Majid is the second son of Sultan Iskandar by his second wife Sultanah Zanariah, and was born in 1970 at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Bahru. In his youth, he was enrolled into Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar before pursuing his studies at MENLO College, Palo Alto in San Francisco. Tunku Majid also represented himself in international sports tournaments in the 1980s as a youth, particularly hockey and golf, which he excelled in.[7] In 1989, after his uncle, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the incumbent Tunku Bendahara of Johor, Tunku Majid was appointed by his father to succeed Tunku Abdul Rahman.[11]
In January 2006, Tunku Majid married Tunku Teh Mazni Binti Tunku Yusuf, a member of Kedah and Kelantan royal family. Tunku Teh's father is the son of Tunku Temenggong of Kedah, Tunku Muhammad Jiwa Ibni Sultan Abdul Hamid and her mother Tengku Embon Suria, is the daughter of Tengku Sri Pekerma DiRaja of Kelantan, Tengku Abdul Majid Ibni Tengku Besar Tuan Yusof. [12] They have a son, Tunku Mahmood Iskandar, whom Tunku Majid fondly named him after his father, Sultan Mahmud Iskandar and a daughter named Tunku Aisha Menjalara Iskandar. [13]
Tunku Majid's keen interest in the Malaysian sports industry resulted in his appointment as the President of the Malaysian Golf Association.[14] and Deputy President of the Malaysian Hockey Federation[15] During his tenure as honorary capacity of these national sports associations, he was noted for his contributions to the sporting field at the national level. In 2008, he proposed the formation of the Asean Golf Foundation, of which presidents of the respective gold clubs among ASEAN countries will take turns on a rotational basis to serve as its secretary general.[16] In addition, he was also noted for his personal generous contributions in the development of the Malaysian hockey and golf teams.[9][17][18] In late 2008, however, an internal crisis in the administration of these sports associations resulted in Tunku Majid being relieved of his positions.[19]
A relatively high profile incident in 1992 which saw Tunku Majid assaulting a hockey coach culminated in the stripping of legal immunity by members of the royalty. The incident, which occurred on 10 July 1992, occurred during a hockey match with Perak. Tunku Majid, who was with the players, apparently got irritated after the Perak hockey team won the game by a penalty shot, and subsequently beat up the Perak Hockey Coach, Mohamed Jaafar Vello (also known as Jaafar Selvaraj).[20][21] Following the incident, Jaafar did lodged a police report with the moral support of the cabinet towards the end of the month. Subsequently, press reports launched a series of articles publishing the incident,[22] and the Malaysian Hockey Federation, being prompted to act, issued a five year ban to Tunku Majid from participating in any national hockey tournaments.[23]
Sultan Iskandar, apparently infuriated by the decision, issued an edict to pressure the Johor education department to enforce a boycott of Johor hockey teams not to participate in any national hockey tournaments. This led to some hockey coaches being dissatisfied by Sultan Iskandar's decision, and promptly criticised his decision. Sultan Iskandar, taking Gomez' remarks in offence,[24] ordered Gomez to meet him in November 1992 at Istana Bukit Serene, where he promptly reprimanded and assaulted Gomez. The incident sparked off a standoff between the Malaysian government and members of the royalty after the government proposed changes to review the status of legal immunity of the rulers.[25]
Tunku Majid, on the other hand, was ordered to stand trial for voluntarily causing hurt, which he initially pleaded not guilty.[26] Subsequent court sessions into January 1993 convicted him of deliberately causing hurt and hence made him liable to a jail term and/or a fine, though neither penalties were slapped on him[27] following an official pardon issued by his father.[28]
In November 2008, accusations by the Malaysian Golf Association was brought up by its members against Tunku Majid for excessive and unethical use of the association's funds. A committee member, Abdul Majid Md Yusoff–an elected committee member who issued the notice of the EGM, in which Tunku Majid responded strongly to his claims.[29] Shortly before an Extraordinary General Meeting was held to decide the fate of Tunku Majid, Tunku Majid expressed that it was unconstitutional to the vires of the rules of the MGA and pledged to continue serving the association until his term expires the following year, but also expressing that he would not seek re-election to be its association's president. He expressed his decision to boycott the meeting,[30] after seeking legal advice from a lawyer.[31]
The delegates voted in favour of impeaching Tunku Majid as his president. A vote of no confidence against Tunku Majid as President was taken–with 129 delegates voting in favour of his impeachment and 33 against.[32] However, questions were about the technical ambiguity questioned the legitimacy of the meeting, whose views were also supported by former President Thomas Lee and vice-President Zain Yusof.[33] Following the delegation, Tunku Majid expressed that he still believed that he was the President of the MGA. Members of the MGA rebutted by citing provisions within its constitution, and refuted Tunku Majid's claims that the EGM was unconstitutional.[34]
In a surprise move, delegates swiftly elected MGA's vice President Robin Loh in Tunku Majid's place, arguing that its legitimacy as provided by the association's constitution.[35]