Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's fierce exchanges with the Johor royalty in recent weeks have focused on Kuala Lumpur's now-retracted decision to accede to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and on appointments to the state government.
But the genesis of the bad blood stretches back not just to the Crown Prince's call not to vote for Tun Dr Mahathir in last year's election, but to the early 1990s, during the 93-year-old leader's first period in office when the government removed immunities enjoyed by Malaysia's Malay rulers following episodes of assault by Johorean royalty.
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