Johor: It’s either war or peace between PH and BN

MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim underscored his commitment to coalition unity, making it clear he does not want clashes among partners in the Johor state elections.

He advised his supporters to avoid spats with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) or Barisan Nasional (BN) throughout the campaign.

However, supporters of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and BN are already sparing no chance to get at each other’s throats on social media.

Meanwhile, Anwar also reiterated that fighting against each other in the elections will be meaningless since the party leaders will have to sit at the same table during Cabinet meetings, for example.

He admitted that the BN and PH decision to contest all the seats in Johor, resulting in the two groups fighting for the same seats, “created a headache for us.”

“While we clash with Umno and BN today, we will be sitting next to each other at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday,” he said during the weekend.

He also said that his choice would have been to work alongside the unity government partners for these elections, blaming BN in the process for the split.

“It was their (BN) choice to call for an election. It was their (BN) choice to create political instability.”

He added that if they want a fight, then we will fight.

Elections to the state assembly must be held within 60 days after the Johor assembly was dissolved on June 1.

In the March 2022 election, BN won 40 seats in the 56-member state assembly, PH won 12, while Perikatan Nasional secured three and Muda one.

Not happy with Anwar’s call for a truce during the elections, one Facebook user said:

“One minute you’ll fight them on every front, the next minute hands off! He’s talking like his dancing partner, Trump, now!”

Another user questioned the decision by PH, headed by Anwar, to contest all the seats in Johor after BN said it would not ally with PH in the polls, saying, “Just don’t understand what he is trying to do? Don’t fight against BN, but in the first place, BN wanted to go solo! You said you agreed with Mat’s, if they want to fight, then we’ll fight! BN is going to fight in PH’s seats, but now you don’t want PH to fight! How? Give Johor to BN on a platter?”

However, some were more pragmatic amid the looming clashes between parties in the same coalition ruling the country.

“The world is facing uncertainty, economic pressures, and growing challenges. Is this the time for political change, or the time for stability and strong leadership?

At the end of the day, Malaysians want leaders who can manage the country well, protect livelihoods, and focus on the rakyat—not endless political battles,” but it has been said that Anwar has also said he did not want elections as his focus and everybody’s focus should be to work for the country’s economic interest.