Written by: Averroes
(1.0) History
On the 11th December 1885, a Loyal Treaty, Anglo-Johore Treaty or Friendship Treaty among different nomenclature was signed between Emperor Abu Bakar, son of Raja Temenggong Tun Daeng Ibrahim (1862 - 1895) and the British Representative. Under this Treaty, the Johore Government must secure the sovereignty and security of her State and that of Singapore.
Article 1 of the Loyal Treaty stipulates that there would be joint defence between Johore and the Straits Settlements, including Singapore.
This led to the creation of the Johore Military Force (JMF) being the oldest in Malaysia of around 135 years. The JMF was established in 1886, known as Pasukan Setia Negeri (PSN). Initially, the PSN was divided into three branches, which were the Infantry Unit, Cannon Unit and the Palace Guard Unit.
When they were first established in 1886, there were only 60 Malay men and 20 Afghans. In 1895, there were 270 men. However, in 1905 the three branches combined to form the JMF. As of 1913, a year before Johore became a British protectorate, there were 271 members only. In 1914, it increased to 396. They all had military training, could speak English and trained with signals and telegraph.
As time progresses, the Johore Military Force Enactment 1915, promulgated by the State Council, giving wide powers to the Sultan. According to Section 4 of the Enactment, the JMF are to defend not just Johore, but the whole of Malaya and the Straits Settlements, together with islands adjacent to it.
Emperor Abu Bakar also promulgated the first modern Constitution in Malaya and the oldest State Constitution among all other Constitutions apart from the Terengganu Constitution 1911. It was the Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Johore 1895 (Johore Constitution , which is still in use today.
Both the Loyal Treaty and the Johore Constitution guaranteed their independence and sovereignty, especially from British Colonialism. However, the Loyal Treaty came at a cost that Johore cannot create treatise or form relations with other States, but only the British. The Johore Constitution also state that, the Emperor could not cede any of the Johore territories, under clause 15 and 16.
Though, the clauses were deleted as territorial lands now rests in Malaysia. The Johore State Constitution codified clause 59 and 60 from the Loyal Treaty with the British, consolidating their freedom form external political interventionism. However, clause 15, 16 and 60 was deleted as now Malaysia defends the sovereignty of Johore and her territories.
(1.1) Fall of Johore
In 1914, Johore had to surrender their independence to the British and was the last State in Malaya to do so. It was due to the economic boom of pepper and gambier in the State. Despite maintaining good relations with the British and Emperor Abu Bakar idea of westernisation and diplomatic connections with Queen Victoria, his successors were unable to prevent the State's downfall.
The State was almost nearing bankruptcy which on 11 May 1914, a treaty was signed between Sultan Ibrahim, on behalf of Johore and Sir Arthur Henderson Young, on behalf of the British government.
Under this treaty, the position of British consular agent transitioned to General Adviser. The General Adviser were to advise the Sultan and is binding upon all matters relating to the general administration of the state, except for Islamic and Malay customs.
(1.2) Battles and Dissolution
During World War I, the JMF saw action in Singapore and in Johore when they fought against the Tamil Muslim Sepoy mutineers who opposed British colonialism. This was because, there were Muslim recruits which the British took as to send to fight against the Ottoman Empire, also being a Muslim State. In the end, the JMF succeeded in defeating and capturing prisoners as well as weapons, which they were commended by the imperialists.
It is very ironic that, the JMF at the time was fighting for Johore, but in reality was fighting for the British. This premise occurred again, when they under the false perception was defending Johore from Japanese invasion during World War 2, but was actually defending British colonial interests. Malaya fell swiftly under the command of Lieutenant General Yamashita.
They were more humiliated when they did not see further action, but retreated and were ordered to give their weapons to the Australian troops, implying the weakness and inability of the JMF. In the end, the Malayan Union was formed in 1946 after WW2 and due to their weak quality and lack of momentum, the JMF was abolished.
However, when the Federation of Malaya was formed in 1948, they were revived as to maintain its historical and customary presence in Malaysia.
However, in 1993 the Sultan of Johore ordered the JMF to surround Douglas Gomez who was the coach for Johore's hockey team. The Sultan ordered this as Gomez uttered for the resignation of all Johor Hockey Association principal office bearers and lamented the leadership for "destroying" hockey when they had to withdraw in the Semi-Finals for the Malaysian Hockey Federation Milo Champion Schools Tournament.
After a day being surrounded, he sought medical treatment due to the bruises and injuries on his face and filed a police report. This may have led to Parliament amending the Federal Constitution in removing the Malay rulers immunity. The JMF was also dissolved by the Federal Cabinet, but now they have been revived the second time after their shame in World War 2.
(2.0) Constitutionality
However, when Johore became part of the the Federation of Malaysia in 1948, their status is now only limited to that of protecting the royal family of Johore and their assets only. They do no protect the State of Johore as that is the responsibility of Malaysia. This remains until today.
This was among the conditions with the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948 (Malaya Agreement) enforced in 1st February 1948, where there must only be one army at the federal level. The role of JMF has reduced from military activities to customary and coronation purposes only.
The Loyal Treaty and the Johore Constitution is included under the Malaya Agreement.
Section 2(1) defines 'Constitution of the State', "with reference to any State means such constitution as may have been enacted or granted by the Ruler of that State, either before the date of the execution of this Agreement or after that date... includes any amendment duly made thereto;"
'the existing laws' is then defined as, "all other enactments and instruments, having the force of law in any of the territories comprised in the Federation immediately prior to the appointed day."
Therefore, the Loyal Treaty and JMF Enactment 1915 are still enforceable in Malaysia and Johore as they are considered to be 'existing laws', similar to the Sedition Act 1948 in the Azmi Sharom case. Though, the laws mentioned had been interpreted, amended, or some provisions deleted so that JMF is limited to body guards of the Sultan and his assets.
Many of the provisions of the Johore Constitution had been amended or deleted as to place their status as a State within the Federation. A division of legislative powers is clear between the Federation and State, since these are the core tenets of a federal government.
Our current Malaysian Federal Constitution (FC) with its creation together with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore under the Malaysian Agreement 1963, stipulates that the Federation has power in terms of Military, internal security and defense over the whole nation. This is explicitly seen under the Ninth Schedule, List I, Item 2 of the FC.
If there are attempts to make the JMF a military force at par with the Malaysian Armed Forces, then that would be unconstitutional.
(3.0) Current Structure
Today, Johore's monarchial system and customs are very westernised, from their royal garments, to the Brass Band and architecture. The Sultans do not wear the setanjak or any Nobat music playing when the Sultan arrives or leaves the palace. The JMF would conduct the Brass Band.
Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Sultan Iskandar is the Commander of the JMF, while the heir apparent to the throne and first line in succession, Tunku Mahkota of Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim is the Commanding Officer of the JNF.
There is now a modern camp for the soldiers at the Istana Bukit Serene at Jalan Tasik, Johor Bahru. Currently, the total strength of JMF, including civil servants total at 425 people. There is also the Commission of JMF to supervise the appointment of JMF members. Today, JMF received international recognition through History Channel, on one of the channels on Astro a local TV product.
(4.0) Conclusion
To conclude, the JMF is an important historical army which serves as a reminder that Malaysia must maintain her independence and sovereignty from foreign invasions. It is for us to appreciate and understand history as that future generations have a sense of belonging and patriotism within this country.
(5.0) References;
Muhaymin Hakim bin Abdullah, Khairul Azman bin Mohd Suhaimy, Md Akbal bin Abdullah, et. al. (2021) Johor Military Force (Jmf): The Only Royal Security Force in Malaysia. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education. 12(2). Pp 704-710. Retrieved from, https://turcomat.org/index.php/turkbilmat/article/view/925/716
Lateh, H. M., Resad, I. S. A. @ M., Embong, R.(2019). The Impact of Johor State Constitution's Promulgation in 1312 AH (1895CE). International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(11), 710–725. Retrieved from, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0b6a/45a69156cc33d8a89c14d1e6532bd4df907e.pdf
Tunku Shahriman bin Tunku Sulaiman. (2004) THE JOHORE MILITARY FORCES: THE OLDEST ARMY OF MALAY REGULARS IN THE PENINSULA. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 77(2), Pp 95-105. Retrieved from, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41493526
Zaemul Zamhari Ibrahim. (2017) Examine the reason why Sultan of Johore finally accepted a British advisor in 1914. Retrieved from, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318866594_Examine_the_reason_why_Sultan_of_Johore_finally_accepted_a_British_advisor_in_1914#:~:text=British%20General%20Adviser%20in%201914,its%20major%20source%20of%20revenue.&text=Sultan%20of%20Johore%2C%20Sultan%20Ibrahim,a%20British%20advisor%20in%201914.
Gillen, M. (1994) The Malay Rulers' Loss of Immunity. Occasional Paper. University of Victoria, Canada. Retrieved from, https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/capi/assets/docs/Ghai_Legal_Responses.pdf
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