Rumors and fear

Johor Palace: No action against those who don’t don mourning attire (Update) [THE STAR]

There has been so much rumors flying around the past few days following the death of Sultan Iskandar. This kind of marred the otherwise solemn and sad affair of the passing of Johor's Sultan.

Rumors mainly centered about the donning of mourning attire which was first announced by the Menteri Besar. Some said enforcement officers were on the ground imposing fines on those who failed to comply. Some even claimed that people were slapped for arguing. Roadblocks were put up on a witch hunt exercise. Retail premises were being fined etc. etc. You can easily search around on google and you would fine more bizarre examples on the web. I am not sure whether these were true, partially true or totally fake but it is good that the Johor Palace decided to clear matters and clarify on the whole issue. And they were right that mourning should come from the heart and not enforced. For more info, click on the above link.

It looks like either there have been some overzealous officers out to earn a buck or there were some impostors on the prowl. Either way someone is profiteering from all the uncertainty. And amidst all the sadness, people were gripped in fear of being reprimanded. More so for non-Johoreans like me who has never seen such a thing happening back home in KL or Selangor. Apparently, there was some shortage of 3-in black cloth as everyone grabbed them to pin up their sleeves. Yours truly also took no chances on the first working day for fear of being slapped by someone, worse still an impostor! Everyone weren't very sure and some were quite creative using black tapes or even cutting off cloth from T-shirts.

What I do know as fact was that officers ordered shops and shopping complexes to be closed down on Saturday as a mark of respect during the funeral of the Sultan. Circulars were issued and some time was given to close shop. I think only food outlets remained open. There were some grunts and complaints but I think mostly complied. Entertainment outlets weren't even open at all in the first place. The town was indeed very quiet and sombre - something very uncommon in JB on a weekend. Singaporeans who visited were shocked. And with nothing else to do, most Johoreans were glued to the TV set following the entire funeral process.

But what is for sure is Sultan Iskandar has passed away. And one things if for sure - he's been an imposing figure on Johor for 3 decades and would not be easily forgotten by Johoreans. May his soul rest in peace!