Coalition retains control of Johor with decisive electoral win
JOHOR BARU: Barisan Nasional has tightened its grip on the state by winning 48 of the state’s 56 seats in the state polls.
Pakatan Harapan won the remaining eight seats, with DAP taking six and one each for PKR and Amanah.
Caretaker Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi retained his Machap state seat with a handsome majority of 15,375 votes.
Barisan component parties, Umno, had a good showing when it won 36 out of the 37 seats it contested while MCA doubled its representation from four seats to eight.
The party not only successfully defended Yong Peng, Paloh, Pekan Nanas and Bekok but also captured Tangkak, Layang-Layang, Jementah and Johor Jaya.
Another Barisan component member MIC, also won all four seats it contested and for the first time, it won a seat in the Chinese-majority area of Perling.
A total of 172 candidates from 13 political parties contested in the election.
Perikatan Nasional suffered major setbacks, losing PAS-held Maharani, while Johor Bersatu chairman and former mentri besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal was defeated in Bukit Kepong.
Muda also failed to defend its lone seat, Puteri Wangsa, and lost in the three other constituencies it contested.
Pakatan’s DAP also suffered heavy losses, winning in only six of the 17 seats it had eyed – Bentayan, Penggaram, Mengkibol, Stulang, Skudai and Senai.
PKR’s Dr Maszlee Malik, however, retained Puteri Wangsa.
Amanah retained its Simpang Jeram seat.
Other parties including Parti Bersama Malaysia, Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP), Parti Orang Asli Malaysia (Asli) and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) failed to make a breakthrough.
Bersama, MIPP and Asli were making their Johor election debut.
All six independent candidates also lost, with many expected to forfeit their deposits.
In three seats namely Bukit Naning, Puteri Wangsa and Bukit Batu, which were all five-cornered fights, up to three candidates each lost their deposits.
Two serving MPs Pulai MP Suhaizan Kayat from Amanah and PKR’s Batu Pahat MP Onn Abu Bakar failed in their bid for the Larkin and Senggarang seats, respectively.
Political observers said Barisan’s performance was particularly significant due to a higher voter turnout which exceeded 67%, compared with 54% in the 2022 state election.
Many termed it an “Onn Hafiz wave”, which propelled Barisan to win big this time because of his achievements in Johor.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Dr Azmi Hassan said the result vindicated Barisan’s decision to call an early state election.
“Johor is where Barisan’s strength lies,” he said.
Azmi also attributed Barisan’s dominance to the split opposition, noting that PAS had urged its supporters to back Barisan in seats where Perikatan Nasional was not contesting.
He said the results reinforced his long-held view that the so-called green wave had failed to take root in Johor.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for PAS to gain influence in Johor,” he said.
Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Datuk Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said Barisan’s strong showing reflected Onn Hafiz’s performance as mentri besar, the coalition’s established grassroots machinery and divisions within the opposition.
“If PAS supporters shifted tactically to Barisan in selected constituencies, that would indicate strategic voting rather than an ideological realignment.
“It would therefore be more accurate to describe it as a consolidation of Barisan’s advantage than a complete Umno revival,” he said.
However, Sivamurugan cautioned that one election was insufficient to conclude that the green wave was over.
“Johor has traditionally displayed different voting behaviour from the northern states.
“A strong Barisan performance suggests the green wave has been contained in Johor rather than eliminated altogether,” he said.
