Johor polls: BN sweeps 48 of 56 seats as PM Anwar’s PH cedes ground in southern state

JOHOR BAHRU: Barisan Nasional (BN) swept to a resounding victory in Malaysia’s Johor state election on Saturday (Jul 11), winning 48 out of 56 seats and surpassing the 40 it won in 2022.

Its Johor rival, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, won the remaining eight seats in the closely watched contest, losing ground from the 12 seats it secured in 2022.

The results were confirmed by the Election Commission at about 1am on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters at around 11pm, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said: “Friends of Barisan Nasional, we want to thank you all for your support.

“I want to congratulate all of you. We have clinched 48 seats, and now we will help Dato Onn (Hafiz Ghazi) so Johoreans will live better lives,” he added, referring to BN Johor chair and incumbent chief minister.

BN’s majority of over two-thirds in the state assembly gives it the absolute power to pass constitutional amendments and unilaterally redraw electoral boundaries in the state. 

BN and PH were the only political coalitions that contested all seats in the Jul 11 election. Other parties and coalitions, including Perikatan Nasional (PN), fielded between one and 33 candidates.

Anwar congratulated BN on its victory and thanked voters, saying that with the election over, it was time for all to work together to build a more prosperous and progressive Johor.

“Our resolve is clear: all PH candidates, whether they won or lost, are asked to continue serving and voicing the people's concerns,” he wrote in a Facebook post late on Saturday night.

Onn Hafiz retained his Machap seat. 

Some key seats that flipped from PH to BN included Johor Jaya, Perling, Bukit Batu, Jementah and Tangkak. 

BN also won three seats from PN: Bukit Kepong, Maharani, Endau.

PH’s candidate Maszlee Malik won the Puteri Wangsa seat from the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA).

The election saw a voter turnout of 67.4 per cent as at 5pm, an hour before voting ended. 

This was significantly higher than the overall turnout of 53 per cent in 2022, but shy of the 74.5 per cent turnout in 2018. 

Turnout was reportedly higher in BN-held seats than PH-held seats.

BN’s landslide win not only strengthens its foothold in Johor. 

In June, Zahid had said the snap election was a launchpad for BN to catalyse a wider “blue wave” comeback in the country. Blue is BN’s official colour.

"The Johor state election is the true point of determination. From Johor we rebuild strength, from Johor we reignite the flame of struggle, and from Johor we show that the blue wave is back," Zahid said on Jun 7 at the Johor BN election machinery launch at EduCity Indoor Stadium in Iskandar Puteri.

"We want to send a clear signal to the nation that BN remains relevant, remains strong, and continues to be the people's choice.”

At a press conference on Saturday evening before official results were announced, Zahid said BN will continue to cooperate closely with Anwar’s unity government for political stability and Malaysians’ well being.

“We will implement and execute the manifesto we promised to the people of Johor.”

Over at Pulai Springs Resort where PH supporters gathered to await the results, the mood was subdued.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) election director Amirudin Shari said “PH is committed to fulfilling its role as the opposition” by monitoring the policies of the state government.

PKR is led by Anwar and a component party of PH.

Amirudin, who is also Selangor chief minister, said the Johor election outcome would serve as a “motivation” for PH to strengthen its outreach efforts and engage more communities as it prepares for the 16th General Election (GE16) and the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan state polls. 

On what the results could mean for cooperation between PH and BN at the federal level, Amirudin said the unity government’s commitment to remain “intact until the end of its term” remained unchanged. 

“That is a promise by BN too,” he said.

Another PH leader, Khalid Abdul Samad, said the Johor result should not be taken as a barometer for the next general election. 

“We are confident PH still has the best prime minister candidate so the situation will be quite different,” he said.

“We cannot generalise what happens in the state and what happens in the GE.”

A total of 172 candidates contested this time, with the majority of seats seeing multi-cornered fights. 

Cost of living, housing affordability and delays to the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) masterplan were among the key issues during the two-week campaign. 

The results of the Johor state polls are expected to have ramifications on campaigning and shifting alliances ahead of the Negeri Sembilan polls. 

Results of the two state elections will help PH gauge public support, providing a better indication of how the pact and Anwar may fare in the looming national polls to be called by February 2028, observers have said.