DAP Came To Johor With Slogans. Onn Hafiz Came With Shovels. Voters Will Decide Which One Matters More
Johor voters have seen this movie before. DAP wins big, then confuses a mandate with ownership.
In 2022 they swept 10 seats in Johor on the back of anti Barisan Nasional (BN) sentiment.
Fast forward to 2025, and the script has flipped. After Sabah showed DAP losing every seat they contested, the same arrogance that cost them there is now on display in Johor.
The difference is simple: DAP brings perspective, Onn Hafiz brings performance.
DAP’s Perspective Problem And Failure Of Delivery
DAP in Johor still acts like it is 2018. The messaging is national, the tone is top down, and the ground work is missing.
Seats like Skudai were won with 27k majorities because voters wanted change, not because they signed up for permanent DAP rule.
Four years later, that same seat faces traffic congestion at Taman Universiti, flood mitigation delays in Kempas, and business licence bottlenecks that kill small traders.
The answer from DAP? More press statements, less site visits.
That is arrogance, assuming the 2022 majority is transferable without delivery. Sabah proved it is not.
When a party mistakes presence on social media for presence in the constituency, voters notice.
Constituency service centres that were promised to be open daily are staffed part time.
Resident complaints on drainage, street lighting and illegal dumping get redirected to the local council with no follow up.
Townhall sessions are rare, and when they happen they feel like ceramah, not problem solving.
That is the arrogance of incumbency: we won, so you will wait.
Dapsy’s Arrogance On Full Display
If DAP Johor is detached, Dapsy Johor is worse. Dapsy leaders in the state talk like they own the future of Johor, but their track record is thin.
Instead of fixing potholes or helping traders, Dapsy lecture voters on national ideology and party doctrine.
Dapsy leaders’ Social media posts attack political opponents, but rarely show ground programmes that solve local problems.
The arrogance is in the tone. Dapsy Johor speaks down to voters, dismisses criticism as “cybertrooper” or “political”, and assumes young voters will fall in line because of party brand.
Sabah should have been a warning. Young voters rejected Dapsy candidates there because they saw no work on the ground, only noise online.
Johor Dapsy is repeating the same mistake. Brand is not a substitute for boots on the ground. Arrogance is not a strategy.
How DAP Treated Marina Ibrahim In Skudai
The clearest example is Marina Ibrahim, incumbent ADUN for Skudai since 2018.
Marina won with a huge mandate and has been one of DAP’s most vocal Johor reps on local issues, pushing for accountability and service for residents and businesses.
Yet within DAP Johor she received cold treatment compared to other ADUNs.
Less allocation for constituency work, less platform at state events, and internal pressure to move out of Skudai.
In a letter dated 30 May 2026 to DAP Johor Chairman, Marina revealed she rejected an offer made by DAP Women Chief Teo Nie Ching during a discussion on 17 May 2026 with Andrew Chen Kah Eng, Johor DAP Secretary.
The offer was for Marina to contest Tiram instead of Skudai, with a GLC chairmanship promised if she failed to win.
Marina declined the offer and announced she was quitting politics.
The letter went viral after she shared it in the DAP Johor WhatsApp group.
NST reported on 31 May 2026 that Marina declined to confirm the letter’s authenticity publicly.
This exposes DAP’s hypocrisy. Before GE14, DAP attacked political appointments to GLCs.
After taking power, GLC posts were dangled as a consolation prize to shift a vocal local rep out of her base.
The message to every Johorean: serve the people loudly and DAP will offer you an exit package.
Loyalty to the party line matters more than service to constituents.
Onn Hafiz’s Performance Track And Delivery
Compare that to MB Johor Onn Hafiz. Whether you agree with every policy or not, the man is visible.
Onn shows up for roadworks, flood projects, and local business forums.
The Machap representative speaks Johor’s language: development, investment, jobs.
Under Onn’s watch, Johor has pushed the Johor Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS SEZ) with Singapore and expanded Iskandar Malaysia investments.
Approvals for factories and logistics hubs have been accelerated, with the state government cutting red tape so projects move from announcement to construction faster.
The JS SEZ is being positioned as a game changer for skilled jobs and cross border commerce.
That is ribbon cutting and site visits, not rhetoric.
On the ground, Onn’s administration has focused on delivery voters feel daily.
Flood mitigation projects in Tebrau, Skudai and Pasir Gudang have been fast tracked after years of delay, with drainage upgrades and pump stations prioritised before the monsoon season.
Road upgrades and junction improvements in Iskandar Puteri and Johor Bahru are aimed at cutting traffic congestion that has frustrated commuters for years.
Through “Jom Niaga Johor” and dedicated business facilitation units, SMEs are getting faster approval for licences and permits, something traders say was stuck under the previous administration.
At the same time, more technical and TVET training is being aligned to JS SEZ jobs so Johoreans get first access to employment, not just foreign workers.
Onn has also made “turun padang” his signature style, turning up unannounced at markets, schools and project sites to check progress himself.
Johor Voters See Onn, Not Just His Poster
There is also stronger coordination with Singapore on water, energy and customs to make JS SEZ functional, not just another announcement.
The message from Onn is consistent: fix what is broken, approve what creates jobs, and show up where people live.
It is not just Johor. BN led state governments in Pahang and Malacca run the same playbook: infrastructure delivery, clear timelines, less political drama.
In Pahang, the ECRL alignment through Bentong, Temerloh and Kuantan is framed as a logistics boost, with the state attracting warehousing near stations.
In Malacca, tourism recovery and port expansion in Tanjung Bruas are backed by direct engagement with SMEs and traders.
Even on bread and butter issues, BN states hammer delivery. Flood mitigation, road upgrades in semi urban areas, faster processing for small business licences.
Fix the roads, approve the projects, turn up for constituents. That’s BN’s style.
Voters may be frustrated with the federal government, but they can still see the difference between an ADUN who appears at ground events and one who tweets.
The Johor Choice
If DAP loses Skudai, it will not be BN magic. It will be DAP arrogance meeting Onn’s ground game.
DAP thought perspective and slogans were enough; BN put boots on the ground and delivered projects voters can see.
Dapsy’s arrogance, DAP’s failure to serve after winning big, and the Marina case that exposed GLC hypocrisy are the story here.
Johor’s upcoming polls will be a referendum on performance versus perspective.
Right now, only BN is scoring points where it matters, at the grassroots, with spades in the ground and projects on the table. – NMH
The writer is Vice-President of Parti Cinta Malaysia and a commentator on governance and public policy. The views expressed are his own.
Also read:
PRN Johor 2026: Ujian Pertama BN Tanpa Faktor Najib
DAP Silence Exposes the Truth: UMNO was Always the Bogeyman
PKR Tears Itself Apart While In Power: The Real ‘Reformasi’?
Johor Polls: Can BN Win Big Without The Najib Factor?
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