Negri prince claims Johor Raja Muda beat him up, wants justice

Tunku Nadzimuddin with his wife Nur Azini Mohd Kamal (left) and mother Tunku Dara Naquiah Tuanku Ja'afar at the press conference. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR— It was his first night out on the town after being cooped up for cancer treatments. But for a Negri Sembilan prince, the happy event at a popular nightspot in the city centre here soon turned into a disaster.

Tunku Nadzimuddin Tunku Mudzaffar claims he and his friends were badly beaten up at gunpoint by the Raja Muda of Johor, Raja Muda Tunku Ismail Idris Abdul Majid, and his bodyguards at the Crowne Plaza Hotel here in the wee hours of the morning on Oct 25 last year.

The eldest son of Tunku Dara Naquiah Tuanku Ja’afar – and grandson of the 10th King of Malaysia – went public today after a year of waiting for justice to be served.

He was accompanied by his parents, his uncle, his wife, Nur Azini Mohd Kamal, 32, a business development manager with Antah, his lawyer, M. Puravalen and the friend, Shamshuddhuha Ishak, 40, who also alleged assault at the hands of the Raja Muda of Johor, the second-in-line to the state throne.

Speaking at a press conference in upscale Damansara Heights office here today, the 37-year-old, who suffered from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said he lodged a report at the Dang Wangi police station the very next day.

“I was a victim of a brutal armed assault. I was attacked with a gun,” Tunku Nadzimuddin said, recounting how he was dragged into the hotel lift and taken into a hotel room and beaten up without reason with a gun aimed at his head all the while.

But, to date, no one has been charged, despite the Attorney General’s (AG) promise last December that investigations will be carried out fairly and action taken against the culprits.

“He said he will check on everything and get the details done first,” Tunku Nadzimuddin’s mother related.

“Police had assured that their probe would be caried out without fear or favour. I was further assured that no one was above the law and the assailants would be produced in court to face charges,” Tunku Nadzimuddin said.

“However, today I am left bewildered and shocked to learn otherwise,” he added, slamming the police for their “serious lack of affirmative action in the investigations”.

“We just want to see things moving,” said Tunku Dara Naquiah. “In any situation, in any society, you hold a gun, you go to prison straightaway, isn’t it?”

“In the spirit of Hari Raya, we want closure,” the Negri Sembilan princess said, and added: “I want justice to be done.”

The AG’s Chambers is said to have advised her to try and settle the royal row out of court.

Tunku Dara Naquiah, who called the media conference, dismissed hearsay that her family was suing the Johor Raja Muda for RM100 million.

Lawyer M. Puravalen, who is acting for the Negri Sembilan royals, stepped in and explained that a letter of demand for RM50 million in compensation and a full apology for the incident was sent to the Johor Raja Muda’s lawyer, Datuk Shafee Abdullah, on Dec 10.

No lawsuit has been filed yet, Puravalen said. They are still waiting for the AG’s reply.

“You can’t dictate to the AG. It’s not proper,” he added.

The incident is said to have started on Oct 24, 2008 when Tunku Nadzimuddin and some friends were partying at the Heritage Mansion.

A glass bottle – said to have contained whisky – was thrown in their direction and hit the prince’s friend, lawyer Shamshuddhuha, who fell unconscious as a result.

Tunku Nadzimuddin claimed he received a call on his mobile phone from a man who said he was acting on behalf of the Johor Raja Muda and invited him up to the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel to apologise for the earlier incident at the club.

They accepted. But instead of an apology, he was bashed on the head with the pistol butt and also suffered a broken nose and bruises.

He claimed he was not given a reason for the assault. There was no conversation between him and the Johor Raja Muda during the 45 minutes or so of the thrashing.

“I didn’t want to provoke him,” Tunku Nadzimuddin said when asked why he did not say a word.

He was later treated at the government-run Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).

His lawyer friend Shamshuddhuha, who was hit by the bottle, was repeatedly assaulted while still out cold.

Both Tunku Nadzimuddin and his mother denied that they knew the Johor Raja Muda, either personally or even socially.

“I don’t know him at all. Not even socially,” Tunku Nadzimuddin replied when asked about his relationship with the Johor Raja Muda.

Tunku Dara Naquiah said that even though they were royals, it did not mean they moved around in the same social circles.

But she said she received a phone call from the Raja Muda’s family after the incident.

“They called me to apologise. But not in so many ways. Only ‘Oh, I’m so sorry my son did this to your son’,” she recounted.

Today’s disclosure could reignite debate about the indiscretions of royalty here. In the 1990s former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad managed to push through amendments to the Constitution which removed the immunity of royalty from prosecution.

Under the Constitution, the country’s nine Sultans can be tried only by a special court. Other members of royal households are not immune from prosecution and can be charged for criminal offences. (TMI)