Mahkota polls: Federal Govt stability more important than unity govt in Johor, says state Amanah chief

KLUANG: Despite hopes for a unity government in Johor, the main focus is to ensure the stability of the Federal Government, says Johor Amanah.

Its chief, Aminolhuda Hassan, stated that they were prioritising the stability of the Federal Government over internal state government issues.

“Johor Amanah has been advocating for a unity government in the state since the end of last year, questioning why Johor lacks one while there is one at the federal level and in Melaka, a state that held its election earlier than us,” he said.

He said that they revisited the issue during the Mahkota by-election, seeking to contest due to the absence of a unity government in Johor.

However, he acknowledged the importance of maintaining federal stability, especially given that the chairman of Pakatan Harapan is also the Prime Minister.

“We feel it is crucial to ensure the Federal Government remains stable until the next general election,” Aminolhuda added.

Aminolhuda was responding to Bersatu supreme council member Datuk Seri Azmin Ali’s challenge to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi to form a unity government if Barisan Nasional wins the Mahkota election.

He made these comments after attending a ceramah with leaders from Pakatan and Barisan at a food court on Thursday (Sept 19) night.

He accused Azmin and Perikatan Nasional of attempting to disrupt the cooperation between Barisan and Pakatan in the by-election.

“I would like to ask Perikatan, if they win, what can they do? The rakyat will not benefit as allocations will be channelled to government MPs.

“They have rejected the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on MP allocations and used racial issues as a justification for the rejection,” he said.

Aminolhuda recalled that when Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was Prime Minister, Pakatan, then in opposition, was willing to discuss the MOU rather than outright rejecting it.

He criticised Azmin for pretending to care about the formation of a unity government in Johor.

“Azmin doesn’t need to put on an act, pretending to care about a unity government in Johor.

“Yes, we do not have a unity government yet. It’s okay. We want to focus on the bigger picture and ensure federal stability, especially as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is working on strengthening our economy,” he said.

On Wednesday (Sept 18), at a Perikatan event, Azmin challenged Onn Hafiz to form a unity government if Barisan’s candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah wins the Mahkota state seat to show sincerity.

The Johor excecutive council line-up consists of 10 assemblymen, all from Barisan after the coalition won 40 out of 56 seats in the state election in March 2022.

Barisan has 40 state seats in Johor, with 33 from Umno, four from MCA, and three from MIC.

Pakatan has 12 seats where DAP has 10 seats, PKR and Amanah with one seat each.

Perikatan Nasional has three seats with two from Bersatu and one from PAS, while Muda has one seat.