Sultan of Johor

History

The first sultan of Johor was Alauddin Riayat Shah II, who reigned from 1528 to 1564. He was the son of the last sultan of Malacca, Mahmud Shah. The descendants of the Sultanate of Malacca ruled Johor until the death of Sultan Mahmud II in 1699, when the throne was taken over by Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah IV, marking the start of the House of Bendahara's rule over Johor. Abdul Jalil Shah IV had been a bendahara before the death of Mahmud II.

Modern period

Sultan Ali ruled Johor from 1835 to 1855, following the death of his father, Sultan Hussein, who had nominally ruled from 1819. Like his father, Sultan Ali held only symbolic authority. Both were recognised by the British primarily for diplomatic convenience, but they played little role in the actual administration of Johor. Real political and economic control increasingly came under the influence of Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim and the British colonial authorities, who sought to establish indirect rule in the Malay Peninsula as part of their growing presence in British Malaya.

Internally, Johor experienced a significant shift in political power. Daeng Ibrahim strengthened his position through control of trade routes, the development of plantations and cooperation with British officials. His alignment with British interests enabled him to gradually marginalise Sultan Ali. The British, aiming for administrative efficiency and regional stability, supported Daeng Ibrahim's consolidation of power. In 1855, this culminated in an agreement endorsed by the British, under which Sultan Ali ceded political control to Daeng Ibrahim in exchange for a pension, a keep in Kesang and recognition of his ceremonial title.

This marked the rise of the House of Temenggong and the effective end of the old Sultanate's political relevance in Johor. Following Sultan Ali's removal from power in 1855, the position of Sultan of Johor was effectively de-established. Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim ruled Johor as its de facto sovereign without assuming the title of sultan. His authority continued until his death in 1862, after which his son, Abu Bakar, succeeded him. Initially retaining the title of Temenggong of Johor, Abu Bakar ruled Johor until 1868, when he formally adopted the title of "Maharaja" to reflect his enhanced status and administrative reforms.

Restoration

In 1885, Abu Bakar sought and obtained official recognition from the British to adopt the title of "sultan", thereby restoring the historical Sultanate under the new ruling lineage. This recognition marked the formal re-establishment of the Sultanate of Johor under the House of Temenggong. Abu Bakar subsequently reigned as sultan from 1886 until his death in 1895, becoming the first modern sultan of the current ruling dynasty.

Current office-holder

The current Sultan of Johor is Ibrahim Ismail Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj, who was proclaimed as the 23rd sultan of Johor on 23 January 2010 and crowned on 23 March 2015 at the Istana Besar, Johor Bahru. His father, Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail Al-Khalidi, a great-grandson of Sultan Abu Bakar died on 22 January 2010; the death was announced that night. Ibrahim Ismail, the Tunku Mahkota of Johor (Crown Prince of Johor), was appointed as the Pemangku Raja (Regent) of Johor on the same day. The funeral was held on 23 January after the proclamation of Sultan Ibrahim Ismail.

List of office bearers

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = top:20 bottom:20 right:10 left:10 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1528 till:2050 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:30 start:1528 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(1,1,1) id:s value:orange id:h value:blue id:sx value:red id:hx value:green

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from: 1528 till: 1699 color:s text:Malacca-Johor dynasty from: 1699 till: 1720 color:h text: from: 1718 till: 1722 color:sx text: from: 1722 till: 1855 color:h text:Bendahara dynasty from: 1886 till: 2022 color:hx text:Temenggong dynasty

width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:Rulers

from: start till: 1564 color:s text:"Alauddin Riayat Shah II" fontsize:9 from: 1564 till: 1570 color:s text:"Muzaffar Shah II" fontsize:9 from: 1570 till: 1571 color:s text:"Abdul Jalil Shah I" fontsize:9 from: 1571 till: 1597 color:s text:"Ali Jalla Abdul Jalil Shah II" fontsize:9 from: 1597 till: 1615 color:s text:"Alauddin Riayat Shah III" fontsize:9 from: 1615 till: 1623 color:s text:"Abdullah Ma'ayat Shah" fontsize:9 from: 1623 till: 1677 color:s text:"Abdul Jalil Shah III" fontsize:9 from: 1677 till: 1685 color:s text:"Ibrahim Shah" fontsize:9 from: 1685 till: 1699 color:s text:"Mahmud Shah II" fontsize:9

from: 1699 till: 1718 color:h text:"Abdul Jalil Riayat Shah IV" fontsize:9

from: 1718 till: 1722 color:sx text:"Abdul Jalil Rahmat Shah (Raja Kechil)" fontsize:9

from: 1722 till: 1760 color:h text:"Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah" fontsize:9 from: 1760 till: 1761 color:h text:"Abdul Jalil Muazzam Shah V" fontsize:9 from: 1761 till: 1770 color:h text:"Ahmad Riayat Shah" fontsize:9 from: 1770 till: 1811 color:h text:"Mahmud Riayat Shah III" fontsize:9 from: 1811 till: 1819 color:h text:"Abdul Rahman Muazzam Shah I" fontsize:9 from: 1819 till: 1835 color:h text:"Hussein Muazzam Shah" fontsize:9 from: 1835 till: 1855 color:h text:"Ali Iskandar Shah" fontsize:9

from: 1886 till: 1895 color:hx text:"Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah" fontsize:9 from: 1895 till: 1959 color:hx text:"Ibrahim Al-Masyhur" fontsize:9 from: 1959 till: 1981 color:hx text:"Ismail Al-Khalidi" fontsize:9 from: 1981 till: 2010 color:hx text:"Iskandar Al-Mutawakkil Alallah" fontsize:9 from: 2010 till: 2022 color:hx text:"Ibrahim" fontsize:9

Genealogy tree

• Dato Temenggong Sri Maharaja Tun Daeng Ibrahim l ibni al-Marhum Dato Temenggong Sri Maharaja Tun ‘Abdu’l Rahman, Maharaja of Johor (8 December 1810 – 10 March 1855 – 31 January 1862, ancestor of the sultanal Temenggong dynasty)
• Sultan Abu Bakar al-Kharllil Ibrahim Shah ibni al-Marhum Dato’ Temenggong Sri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim (3 February 1833 – , r.31 January 1862 – 4 June 1895) - Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar al-Mashur ibni al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar (17 September 1873 –, r.4 June 1895 – 8 May 1959)
  • Tunku Muhammad Khallid ibni Tunku Mahkota Ibrahim Iskandar (27 ogos 1870 - 06 June 1881)
  • Sultan Ismail al-Kharllil ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ibrahim (28 October 1894 – , r.8 May 1959 – 10 May 1981)
  • Tunku 'Abdu'l Jalil ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ismail (11 May 1924 – 16 May 1925)
  • Tunku 'Abdu'l Rahman ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ismail (29 July – 16 September 1930)
  • Paduka Sri Sultan Mahmud Iskandar Al-Haj ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ismail (8 April 1932 – 10 May 1981 – 22 January 2010) Enche’ Besar Hajjah Kalthom binti ‘Abdu’llah (b. in England, 2 December 1935 – 1 June 2018), née Josephine Ruby Trevorrow - Sultan Ibrahim Ismail ibni al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Iskandar al-Haj (Born 22 November 1958 – enthroned 23 January 2010 – ) Raja Zarith Sofia binti al-Marhum Sultan Idris al-Mutawakil Allah Afifu’llah Shah, princess of Perak (14 August 1959 – )
    • Tunku Ismail Idris ‘Abdu’l Majid Abu Bakar Iskandar ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, Tunku Mahkota (Crown Prince, 30 June 1984 – )
      • Tunku Iskandar Abdul Jalil Abu Bakar Ibrahim ibni Tunku Ismail, Raja Muda (14 October 2017 – )
      • Tunku Abu Bakar Ibrahim ibni Tunku Ismail, (17 July 2019 – )
    • Tunku Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Sultan Ibrahim Ismail (8 April 1986 – )
    • Tunku Idris Iskandar Ismail ‘Abdu’l Rahman ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, Tunku Temenggong (25 December 1987 – )
    • Tunku ‘Abdu’l Jalil Iskandar ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, Tunku Laksamana (5 July 1990 – 5 December 2015)
    • Tunku ‘Abdu’l Rahman Hassanal Jeffri ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, Tunku Panglima (5 February 1993 – )
    • Tunku ‘Abu Bakar ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, Tunku Putera (30 May 2001 – )

References

Notes

• Nesalamar Nadarajah, Johore and the Origins of British Control, 1895–1914, Arenabuku, 2000,
• T. Wignesan, "A Peranakan's View of the fin de siècle monde malais – Na Tian Piet's Endearing syair of Epic Proportions" [partial tranls. with introduction and notes to Na Tian Piet's "Sha'er of the late Sultan Abu Bakar (of Johor)"]in The Gombak Review, Vol. 4,N° 2 (International Islamic University Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur, 1999, pp. 101–121.
• T. Wignesan. Sporadic Striving amid Echoed Voices, Mirrored Images and Stereotypic Posturing in Malaysian-Singaporean Literatures. Allahabad: Cyberwit.net, 2008, pp. 196–218.

References

1. Wong Chun Wai. (27 September 2017). "Dressing down for launderette". The Star.
2. (March 1973). "The Straits Settlements 1826–67: Indian Presidency to Crown Colony". [[Cambridge University Press]].
3. (2001). "A history of Malaysia". [[Palgrave Macmillan.
4. Turnbull, C. M.. (1972). "The Straits Settlements, 1826–67: Indian Presidency to Crown Colony". University of London Press.
5. Nadarajah, ''Johore and the Origins of British Control'', pg 44
6. Abdullah, A. Rahman Tang. (2011). "Sultan Abu Bakar's Foreign Guests and Travels Abroad, 1860s-1895: Fact and Fiction in Early Malay Historical Accounts". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
7. (23 January 2010). "Tunku Ibrahim Ismail Proclaimed As Sultan Of Johor". Bernama.
8. [https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/11/22/johor-sultan-appoints-his-grandson-as-raja-muda Johor Sultan appoints his grandson as Raja Muda]
9. Zazali Musa. (5 December 2015). "Johor prince Tunku Jalil dies of cancer". The Star.