JOHOR BARU: No PAS assemblymen will be appointed to the Johor state government if Barisan Nasional wins the state election, says state coalition chief Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi (pic).
The Johor Mentri Besar said he has been consistent in his stand that there would be no PAS, Pakatan Harapan or Perikatan Nasional representative in the state government if Barisan was given the mandate to lead the state government once again.
“This has been done before and I will do it again if I am still the Mentri Besar. That is why I need the support of all Bangsa Johor to come and support us so that we can form a strong government,” he said during a media interview session at his official residence here yesterday.
Asked to comment on talk that PAS politicians may be made nominated assemblymen, he said that under the law, nominated assemblymen cannot be made state executive councillors.
“I need both Ling Tian Soon and Lee Ting Han in my government,” he said. Ling is Barisan’s candidate for Yong Peng, while Lee is the coalition’s Paloh candidate.
PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang had earlier said his party is ready to help Barisan Nasional form the Johor state government if the coalition fails to secure a simple majority in the state election.
He added his party is prepared to support and strengthen the state administration to preserve what he termed as the “Malay-Muslim political leadership” in Johor.
“If Barisan falls short of the numbers needed to form the state government, PAS seats can be combined with theirs to enable the formation of the state administration,” Abdul Hadi said after the Perikatan Nasional-PAS Grand Finale campaign event at in Bakri on Wednesday night.
Onn Hafiz also said he could not work with DAP, blaming their politics on spreading hate, confusion and false promises.
He reiterated that this was not a racial issue, but said the DAP’s methods, strategy and politics cannot be accepted in Johor.
He also said that some of the national government policies were not popular in Johor.
The people of Johor, he added, should use the ballot boxes to send a strong message on bread and butter issues. Among them are e-invoicing, EPF’s 2% contribution for foreigners, SST issues, high diesel price and capped fuel subsidies, he said,
Onn Hafiz also hoped voters working in Singapore would return and vote for Barisan, adding that this group is a huge voting bloc, with about 300,000 of them living in the southern districts.
“I promise to work even harder to make it easier for them to travel to and from Singapore daily.
“I will continue to prove myself over the next five years. But I need their help to give me a strong mandate,” he said.
On the campaigning, he said that Barisan was cautiously optimistic as they did not want a repeat of 2018.
“This is because the opposition in Johor are playing the same narrative, which is hate politics, attacking others and making unwarranted accusations.
“They accuse us of many things which are false. There was no agenda from them to build this state,” he added.
He said the state government has a clear vision through 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, we created about 25,000 new jobs, with 9,000 of them offering premium salaries,” he said, adding that the state has given out hundreds of millions of ringgit in welfare aid.
He said economic development was also spread out, with Muar being the focus of the Maharani Energy Gateway, agriculture in Segamat and tourism and fisheries in Mersing.
“In Tanjung Piai, we are looking at the Johor Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) to be part of it,” he added.
Asked about his message to fence-sitters, he said all Johoreans need to rally behind Barisan so that it can continue to carry out its programmes for the people in the state.
“Give me the mandate for another five years and I will do my best. I will continue to give my heart and soul for Johor,” he added.
For the latest updates on the 16th Johor state election,visit https://elections.thestar.com.my/
