JOHOR BARU: The 300,000 Malaysians working in Singapore have been urged to come back and give Barisan Nasional a strong mandate in the upcoming state polls, says caretaker Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
He assured that he would continue to work even harder to make it easier for them to travel to and from Singapore daily.
“I have proven myself over the past four years. I will continue to prove myself over the next five years. But I need their help to give me a strong mandate,” he said.
Onn Hafiz added that this segment of Malaysians is a huge voting block with about 300,000 people living in the southern districts.
Regarding Barisan's campaign so far, he said they were cautiously optimistic as they do not want a repeat of what happened in 2018 to recur again.
“This is because the opposition in Johor are playing the same narrative, which is hate politics, going after individuals and making accusations.
“They accuse us of many things which are false and not talking about the future. There is no agenda to build up this state,” he said.
Onn Hafiz pointed out that Johor, as it stands, has a clear vision via its Maju Johor 2030 and Johor Economic Transformation Plan.
“We have proven it over the past few years with 8% growth, which is the highest in the country with RM110bil worth of investments.
“Last year alone, about 25,000 new jobs were created, with 9,000 of them offering premium salaries,” he said.
He also said that the state has given out hundreds of millions of ringgit in welfare aid via various initiatives.
Onn Hafiz said economic development was also spread out statewide, with Muar focusing on the Maharani Energy Gateway, agriculture in Segamat and tourism and fisheries in Mersing.
He added that they are also looking for Tanjung Piai to be part of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
In a bid to convince the fence sitters, he stressed that a lot has been done for Johor and Johoreans need to rally behind Barisan to continue this good track record.
“Give me the mandate for another five years and I will do my best not to disappoint. I will continue to give my heart and soul for Johor,” he added.
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STATE POLLS 2026
