MUAR folks have apparently appealed to Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim ‘to chill’ after his latest labelling of their MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman as the most “‘Hollywood'” (populist actor) among Malaysian politicians.
Politely, they even apologised for having thought highly of the former MUDA president as “being more functional than many of ‘old fart’ (in the government) 😆”.
“Hollywood or otherwise, what’s important is that he performs his duty and put in diligent effort to seek funds to support Muar folks,” they begged to differ from the viewpoint of the Crown Prince in his podcast with young Johorians at the Tunku Mahkota Ismail Youth Centre (TMIYC) in Muar over the weekend (June 20).
In his podcast, the 42-year-old Tunku Ismail has called on the younger generation of Johor to choose a leadership style that is capable of serving the rakyat instead of just depending on social media popularity.
According to acting Johor ruler, current political trends pointed to many youngsters being attracted to populist leaders who are active in building their image on social media.
“As politicians, they have to seek publicity on social media to ensure there’s engagement with the rakyat and you can see they have worked hard. I understand that,” observed Tunku Ismail.
“But before one makes a decision, it’s vital to make an assessment first because we’ve a lot of ‘Hollywood’, the most ‘Hollywood’ is near Muar. I personally don’t like the ‘Hollywood-styled’ politician but I like people who carry out tasks that can improve the lives of the rakyat.”
Editor’s Note: It is a known fact that Tunku Ismail has had a long-running public dispute with Syed Saddiq whom he has repeatedly called a populist.
‘Frequent intervention in politics’
The above counter-reaction was expressed by fanbase of Asraff Jeffery, the founder of popular Malaysian halal Japanese BBQ chain, Samurai Yakiniku, who once despised Syed Saddiq but is now “a living witness of how the YB’s so-called ‘acting’ wages are channelled back to Muar (his constituency)”.
“If what the YB is doing is called a Hollywood act, let it be. The rakyat have eyes, the rakyat can see who is working hard, who is having fun giving orders,” jibed the entrepreneur on his Facebook page.
Another commenter is taken aback by “frequent intervention of the Johor palace in politics”.
“The rakyat can’t cannot choose who should be their king but they can choose who should be their representative. The people’s representatives are surely not servants of the palace,” he stressed while insinuating further that “the TMJ’s (Johor Regent) statement was made close to the Johor state polls (July 11)”.
One Muar folk came forward to vouch for Syed Saddiq’s swift assistance when her house caught fire in 2023.
“This ‘Hollywood’ artist was the first representative to send aid. My house got burned at 10.15am and aid arrived by 11.30am,” recalled the fire victim.
“After that, more and more aid came. For the kids, laptops were given to everyone.”
Another commenter pleaded to “palace folks” to allow the rakyat to choose freely who they wish to represent them.
In essence, one commenter hit the nail on the head that while “the rakyat has no intention to be disobedient to the king and palace”, respect must go both ways.
“The Muar folks themselves voted and chose Syed Saddiq. One can’t blame him for acting in Hollywood style because of his affair with Bella (fiancée Bella Astillah). The important thing is that aid for folks in the Muar constituency continue to arrive on time”. – June 22, 2026
