Johor caretaker Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi defended calling the Johor state election early due to limited timing until October 2026. He cited religious festivals, the monsoon season, exams, and global economic uncertainties as reasons to hold the polls before then [1]. The state election is scheduled for July 11, 2026, with nomination day on June 27 and early voting on July 7 [2].
Onn Hafiz also addressed his refusal to cooperate with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in forming the Johor state government if given a fresh mandate. He emphasized that his Johor Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition will not work with DAP, stating, "DAP is not a race. DAP is a political party that is perhaps seen as championing matters relating to the Chinese community. It is not just DAP that has been championing and looking after the welfare and interests of the Chinese community. MCA is there for the Chinese community, too" [3, 4, 5]. He clarified that his earlier remark about "not sitting at the same table" with DAP was figurative speech referring to government formation, not a literal seating arrangement: "Ask a language expert what kiasan means. We are not speaking literally" [3, 4, 5].
Onn Hafiz defended his administration against accusations of racism, noting that Johor BN has spent around RM50 million on welfare for the Chinese community and RM40 million for the Indian community under race-neutral "Bangsa Johor" principles [3, 4, 5]. He also expressed concern about political opponents spreading slander and incitement online ahead of the election. "I am worried about slander and incitement. People will come up with videos on TikTok, statements on Facebook, on Instagram and on Threads. All they do is incite," he said [6, 7]. Johor BN plans to contest all 56 state seats in the election [6, 7].
On the Transport Ministry front, Onn Hafiz said he was "touched and relieved" by Transport Minister Anthony Loke's public invitation to join the KTM Komuter Selatan train launch event on June 13, but said he had yet to receive a formal invitation from the ministry [8, 9]. He claimed previous Ministry programmes in Johor often excluded the Johor government, even as some Johor DAP leaders attended [8, 9]. The Johor state government contributed RM700,000 for the KTM train beautification and wrapping works [8]. Loke rebutted Onn Hafiz's claims by listing multiple events attended by Onn or Johor government representatives since early 2024, adding, "If he does not want to sit with me, that's okay. DAP does not regard anyone as an enemy" [10]. Loke also invited Onn Hafiz to sit with him on the KTM Komuter train from Kulai to Johor Bahru despite the political differences [2, 9].
Onn Hafiz acknowledged the mistake of referring to himself as "Onn Jaafar" in a J-Kom video earlier this month, which drew public criticism [11]. He also highlighted teamwork and humility as key principles of Johor BN governance over the past four years [6, 7].
The Johor state election scheduled for July 11 remains the next major event for Onn Hafiz and his coalition.
