Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Johor (TMJ) shared on X platform an anxious moment when he and his family were at a hotel near Siam Paragon Mall in Bangkok, the site of a fatal shooting that claimed two lives on Tuesday.
TMJ said that at the time of the incident, his family was sitting in the lobby of a nearby hotel before the commotion broke out. “People were screaming and running into the hotel from the mall when the shooters started shooting. It was very noisy and there was so much screaming. “We got the kids/family to safety, ran into the basement with my team, and my mind was on how many shooters were out there, what weapons they were using, and what the situation was. We had to be alert and ready for any eventuality because all we knew at that time was the sound of gunshots. We have no other information and have to be prepared for anything that can happen.
“I still remember what I said to my children, “everything will be okay. Baba and Mama are here” and told them to stay low while waiting for the vehicle to arrive. “My security team and I stood in front of my family, building a human shield to protect them no matter what happened. All I could think about was getting my family and team out of the place. My wife hugged our children, and we stayed low and tried to calm them down because they were scared and crying. “I shouted at the top of my lungs to our security team to take the car to the basement and take us to a safe location away from the venue. I told them to take us to the Malaysian Embassy, and the driver told us the Singapore Embassy was closer and that’s when I called the Singapore Consul General in Johor.
“From the safety of the embassy, I contacted the Malaysian Prime Minister and our Minister of Defense to inform them of what happened. Tunku Ismail updated his message on the platform, stating that he and his family had returned safely to Johor on Tuesday night. “Unfortunately, I missed the JDT match but I’m thankful my family and our team are safe. This was the worst experience I’ve ever been through. Protecting my children’s lives from killers. 2 people died.
TMJ thanked his security team and friends from Singapore and Malaysia. The JDT team owner was in Bangkok to attend the Asian Champions League (ACL) match, witnessing JDT’s revival by beating BG Pathum United 4-2, at the Pathum Thani Stadium on Tuesday
