ISKANDAR PUTERI: Barisan Nasional will not work with DAP if it is given the mandate to form the state government after the next Johor election, says state chief Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
He said the state’s political landscape differed from that at the federal level, pointing out that Johor Barisan had never governed alongside DAP.
“I would rather not be the Mentri Besar than sit at the same table with them. Johor and the Federal Government are different realities.
“We should remind Bersatu that DAP was with them when they were the state government,” he said at the launch of the Barisan machinery for the state election.
Onn Hafiz urged voters not to be swayed by claims linking Johor Barisan with DAP.
He described allegations that “a vote for Barisan was equivalent to supporting DAP” as slander, calling on the people to make their decisions based on the coalition’s track record governing the state.
On the state’s Bantuan Kasih Johor initiative, the Mentri Besar said the assistance had benefited various groups regardless of race, and questioned criticisms directed at the latest phase of the programme, when earlier phases had received little opposition.
Calling on Johoreans to preserve the state’s long-standing harmony, Onn Hafiz said the people should reject divisive rhetoric and judge leaders based on their performance.
“Don’t judge us based on what we say, judge us on what we do,” he said, expressing confidence that Johoreans were wise enough to make the right choice.
He also addressed questions over the dissolution of the Johor legislative assembly on June 1 despite its term not expiring until next year, saying the timing was carefully considered.
Onn Hafiz said the year-end monsoon season, which often brings floods to parts of the state, would make it less suitable for an election.
February next year coincides with Chinese New Year celebrations and Hari Raya Aidilfitri is expected to fall around March, he explained.
