Facing mounting criticism from the public and politicians after it was confirmed that the Johor Sultan spent half a million ringgit to bid for the 'WWW1' plate number, the Johor crown prince defended his father, arguing that his family has never taken any money from the government.

In Twitter postings yesterday, Tunku Ismail Idris ibni Sultan Ibrahim stressed that every single sen from the government goes into two foundations.

"The Johor royal family has not taken any money from the government since the time of Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim. Feel free to ask the Menteri Besar or any government official.

"The money allocated to my father and I every month as a Sultan and Tunku Mahkota, is put into the Yayasan Iskandar and Yayasan Ibrahim. The purpose of these foundations is to assist the rakyat and the Johor state government.

"I myself, since the time I was the Raja Muda (crown prince), never took one cent from the government till this very day. It's my rakyat's money. So before you open your mouth, do your research," he said.

NONE Tunku Ismail also refuted critics in other postings. One of them read "when you are walking straight, you have nothing to fear" and another was "the best business in the world is, mind your own business".

Yesterday the Road Transportation Department (RTD) released the list of successful bidders for the 'WWW' plate numbers.

Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar ( left ) topped the list with a whopping RM520,000 bid to acquire the much-sought-after ‘WWW1' plate number.

The bid price for ‘WWW1' broke the record set by ‘MCA 1' that in 2010 was sold for RM300,100.

The Sultan's bid had sparked wide criticism in the cyberspace, and one of the strongest statements against the monarch came from former Perak Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, who had been accused by Umno of committing treason against the Perak Sultan during the Perak constitutional crisis in 2009.

He said the RM520,000 could have been spent to help the many poor Malays in Johor and used to build 20 houses for the hardcore poor.

"But if comparing to the RM24 million diamond ring by (prime minister's wife) Rosmah (Mansor), then RM520,000 for WWW1 registration plate is nothing! But how does one justify that purchase, National Fatwa council?... Many people earn just enough to live," he posted in his Twitter webpage yesterday.