Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi has given an assurance that PAS will not be included in the state government if Barisan Nasional (BN) succeeds in forming the next administration and he retains the top post.
The Johor BN chairman said PAS would not become part of his state administration “under any circumstance”, stressing that there would be no cooperation involving the party in forming the state government.
Onn Hafiz said allegations suggesting PAS would join the Johor government were merely political claims intended to influence voters, particularly the Chinese community, ahead of polling day this Saturday.
He also denied claims that any agreement had been made to provide appointed assemblyman positions to PAS in return for the party contesting only 11 seats in the state election.
The Johor Umno chief said BN was directly competing against PAS in those constituencies, which he claimed showed there was no arrangement with the Perikatan Nasional component party.
“Have you seen me campaigning in Maharani or Kahang and other constituencies where PAS is contesting? I personally went there to campaign for BN candidates,” he said.
Earlier, DAP Skudai candidate J Kartiyaini had called on BN to clarify whether appointed assemblyman positions were offered to PAS as part of a political understanding for the Johor election.
The issue arose after PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang said the party was prepared to support BN in forming the Johor government if the coalition failed to secure a simple majority.
The Johor state election involves 56 state assembly seats, with 29 seats required to form a simple majority. BN previously won 40 seats in the 2022 state election.
