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If you can't buy a Ferrari, please buy a Toyota, says Johor prince
Published:  Sep 24, 2016 2:34 PM
Updated: 9:39 AM

Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has advised Malaysian football clubs not to spend beyond their means, to the point that they have to ask for government aid from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"My advice is, if you have RM10, only spend RM5 and keep the balance.

"You should not spend RM15 if you have RM10, as you would then be in debt.

"If you can't buy a Ferrari, please buy a Toyota," Tunku Ismail said in a Johor Southern Tigers Facebook post.

The post was about a dialogue session the prince, who owns the Johor Darul Takzim football club, held yesterday with the media and football fans.

Tunku Ismail did not name any club or say what they had overspent on, but said he knew which ones had asked for money from Najib, adding that an east coast football club had also asked the government for RM2 million.

He said the prime minister should not entertain such requests.

"To the prime minister, don't bother with those requests because the government's money is the people's money, that is to be used for healthcare, education and all civil matters, not for football.

"Football funds should come from sponsors with companies or businesses."

He then took jabs at Selangor and Terengganu, asking if there were no corporate sponsors in those states.

"But if a sponsor offers to give RM2 million, yet you ask for RM10 million, it's no wonder they don't want to give you any," he added.

Tunku Ismail is an ardent critic of the local football scene, and has been fighting to get governing body the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) revamped under new leadership.

Late last month, he handed over a pendrive which allegedly contained information on corruption in the FAM to Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who later handed it over to authorities.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission however found no evidence of graft in the pendrive.

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