PETALING JAYA: Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi says PAS will not be part of his state government if Barisan Nasional (BN) forms the next administration and he is reappointed to the top post.
Onn Hafiz said he could give Johoreans a clear assurance that PAS would never be part of his state administration “under any circumstance”, Sin Chew reported.
“I want to make this absolutely clear,” the state BN chief was quoted as saying.
Onn Hafiz said claims that PAS would be part of the state government were merely political narratives aimed at misleading the Chinese community in Johor ahead of polling day this Saturday.
He also denied agreeing to allocate appointed assemblyman posts to PAS in exchange for the Islamic party contesting only 11 seats in the state election.
The Johor Umno chief pointed out that BN was clashing with PAS in those 11 seats, saying this proved there was no cooperation with the Perikatan Nasional component.
“Have you seen me campaigning in Maharani or Kahang and other constituencies where PAS is contesting? I personally went there to campaign for BN’s candidates,” he said.
Earlier this week, DAP’s Skudai candidate J Kartiyaini urged BN to disclose whether it had allocated appointed assemblyman posts to PAS as part of a tacit political understanding for the Johor polls.
Last night, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said the party was ready to support BN in forming the Johor government if the coalition falls short of attaining a simple majority in the state polls.
A total of 56 seats in the state assembly are up for grabs while a simple majority is reached at 29 seats. BN won 40 seats in the 2022 state polls.
