"Singapore Swaps Prime Land With Malaysia Billionaire King’s Son"

Tyersall Estate Deal Raises Eyebrows—and Ghosts of the Past

The Tyersall estate—where the overgrown ruins of Istana Woodneuk still stand shrouded in tangled greenery—burst back into the headlines this week after a land deal between the Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, and the Singapore government. The once-grand palace, now a silent shell hidden behind the Botanic Gardens, has long been the subject of public fascination. This latest development raises fresh questions—not only about real estate, but about the layers of history buried beneath the estate’s moss-covered foundations.

Learn more in Palace of Ghosts

For years, any hope of development had been stymied by the Singapore government’s zoning restrictions, which designated the Tyersall land for “special use.” But now, a deal has been struck. A portion of the Regent’s land will be swapped for a nearby government-owned plot.

Here’s the irony: the land the government is giving up was originally acquired in 2005 through a compulsory purchase—from Ismail Ibrahim’s father, who is now the King of Malaysia. And it was acquired at a price widely seen as far below market value.

Despite this, the new deal sees the Regent of Johor transferring a much larger parcel of land to the government in exchange for a smaller one. The official statement claims the two plots are “of similar value,” but offers no details on how that valuation was calculated. On the surface, it looks like a very advantageous exchange—for Singapore.

That said, the deal may not be entirely one-sided. It at least opens the door for Ismail Ibrahim to finally gain some development rights over land that has long been locked up. There was, after all, always the looming possibility of another compulsory acquisition, which could have left the Regent with only a fraction of what the land might have fetched on the open market.

But what’s easy to miss in the headlines is that this land isn’t just about zoning codes and price per square foot. Tyersall was once the heart of a tangled colonial-era drama involving the Johor royal family, British authorities, and numerous other personalities including a Japanese aristocrat named Marquis Yoshichika Tokugawa. This forgotten chapter of history—and the ghosts that still haunt it—forms the heart of my book, Palace of Ghosts.

Long before land deals and zoning maps, this ground held secrets: royal intrigues, vanished palaces, and figures lost to history. If you’re curious about what truly unfolded here—who once lived in its palaces, wandered its secluded gardens, or pondered the tides of empire within its grand halls—this week’s headlines are only the surface. The real story of Tyersall runs deeper, stranger, and reveals far more than today's news lets on.

Learn more in Palace of Ghosts