An Anglophile, Sultan Ibrahim continued the policy of friendly relations with the crown of the United Kingdom, often manipulating his friendship with the reigning kings of Britain to thwart the expansionist ambitions of the British Colonial Office.

Wan Ibrahim was born 17 September 1873 in the Istana Bidadari, Singapore, and received his education at a boarding school in England during his formative years.

[4] The following month, Tunku Ibrahim accompanied Abu Bakar to London, who had the intent of seeking further negotiations with the Colonial Office on state affairs.

[10] Sultan Ibrahim was inexperienced in public administration skills and heavily relied on his private secretary, Dato Amar DiRaja Abdul Rahman bin Andak on advice and assistance in running the affairs of the state.

Sultan Ibrahim welcomed Swettenham's plan but was weary of British influence in Johor and insisted on financing the construction of the railway line himself.

Swettenham was comfortable with Sultan Ibrahim's prospect of financing the railway line using the state's revenue, and submitted his proposals to the Colonial Office in England.

The proposals drew scepticism from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, who was aware of Johor's financial difficulties and withheld decision.

Sultan Ibrahim then sent his adviser Abdul Rahman Andak the following May to London to negotiate with the Colonial Office,[12] and in April 1901, Sultan Ibrahim made a year-long trip to London to seek private English financiers to fund the construction of the railway line and negotiated with the Colonial Office for a railway loan.

This drew the concern of the Straits Governor, Sir John Anderson, who was not very favourable with Sultan Ibrahim's intents to detach Johor's economic dependence from Singapore.

He successfully pressured Sultan Ibrahim to dispense with the services of Abdul Rahman Andak[13] as well as ceding the administrative powers of the railway line to the colonial government the following year after reports of the state's troubled finances were revealed.

The Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements, Victor Bruce, Lord Elgin had met Sultan Ibrahim in 1906 and advised him to administer the state in favour of British interests and to cut down on his overseas travels to Europe.

The British were extremely unhappy with the condition of Johor's finances, which was depleted as a result of Sultan Ibrahim's extensive overseas travels.

This incited worry and unhappiness in Campbell and Whitley, and they submitted a memorandum to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Arthur Henderson Young to appeal for greater British administrative control over the state.

Young gave provisions to Campbell with the power similar to a British Resident-General from other states, but kept the title of "General Adviser" to show protocol deference to the Sultan.

[27] As a result of his frequent complaints of maladministration of state affairs by the local British government, Sultan Ibrahim's relations with each General Adviser became strained.

[fn 1] Sir Cecil Clementi, who served as the governor of the Straits Settlements as well as the high commissioner of the Malay States from 1930 to 1934, remarked in December 1932 that Sultan Ibrahim was too independent in state affairs and proposed to the Sultan that he should approach Clementi in future under the capacity of the high commissioner instead of the Straits Governor.

Sultan Ibrahim's rejected the proposals, and made a £250,000 cash gift to George VI of the United Kingdom on his 44th birthday in 1939 during his trip to Europe in 1939.

When the Japanese invaded Malaya, Tokugawa accompanied General Yamashita Tomoyuki's troops and was warmly received by Sultan Ibrahim when they reached Johor Bahru at the end of January 1942.

The Japanese continued the British policy of appointing a state adviser in Johor, and Sultan Ibrahim spent most of his time doing leisure activities.

[39] During the interview with Willan, Sultan Ibrahim spoke bitterly of his experiences during the Japanese occupation, and offered to serve under the British Military Administration.

The Sultan asked Willan's permission to fly the Union Jack on his car to attend the surrender ceremony on 12 September, and the British military government granted his requests.

His studies were forwarded to the military administration, and Sir Harold MacMichael, the former high commissioner of Palestine was empowered to sign official treaties with the Malay rulers over the Malayan Union proposal.

Many Malay rulers expressed strong reluctance to signing the treaties with MacMichael, partly because they feared losing their royal status and the prospect of their states falling under Thai political influence.

[41] The treaties provided that United Kingdom had full administrative powers over the Malay states except in areas pertaining to Islamic customs.

Although many Johorean politicians still held critical opinions of Sultan Ibrahim over the treaties with MacMichael, the UMNO delegates gave him a rousing welcome when he arrived at the palace.

[50] The Alliance Party reacted strongly to the events which motivated the formation of the PKMJ, and called for the Alliance-dominated Johor state executive council to vet all future state-policy speeches that will be made by the Sultan or members of the royal family.

[51] Four months later in July 1957, Ungku Abdullah made one last call to urge Sultan Ibrahim not to sign the Malayan Federal Constitution.

[52] From the mid-1930s onwards, Sultan Ibrahim fostered personal friends with the British monarchs, and made a cash donation of £500,000 for the Silver Jubilee of King George V, much of which was used to fund the construction of the Singapore Naval Base at Sembawang.

[citation needed] The Sultan was reported to have given Sultanah Helen Ibrahim a spectacular jewel collection, reputedly giving her an emerald on her birthday and a diamond on their wedding anniversary, even after the divorce.

He spent most of his time watching television and visiting theatres and enjoyed the company of his sixth wife, Marcella Mendl and their beloved daughter, Tunku Meriam.