By Joceline Tan
Tuesday, 30 Jun 2026 | 5:02 PM MYT
THE war of words in Johor is near fever pitch even though the election campaign has only just officially begun.
And the temperature is hottest on the Chinese front where accusations and counter-accusations fly like arrows.
There is a do-or-die urgency on the DAP side because the party cannot afford more setbacks after the Sabah election debacle.
DAP’s two top generals, secretary-general Anthony Loke and deputy chairman Nga Kor Ming, have dominated the pages of the Chinese vernacular media day after day.
The pair understands how the media works and they are newsmakers.
But the thing is that Pakatan Harapan has very few real or strong issues to ride on.
They cannot talk about fighting corruption, which was once their most awesome bullet, or else people will ask about Tan Sri Azam Baki (recently retired MACC chief commissioner) or the corporate mafia.
THE war of words in Johor is near fever pitch even though the election campaign has only just officially begun.
And the temperature is hottest on the Chinese front where accusations and counter-accusations fly like arrows.
There is a do-or-die urgency on the DAP side because the party cannot afford more setbacks after the Sabah election debacle.
DAP’s two top generals, secretary-general Anthony Loke and deputy chairman Nga Kor Ming, have dominated the pages of the Chinese vernacular media day after day.
The pair understands how the media works and they are newsmakers.
But the thing is that Pakatan Harapan has very few real or strong issues to ride on.
They cannot talk about fighting corruption, which was once their most awesome bullet, or else people will ask about Tan Sri Azam Baki (recently retired MACC chief commissioner) or the corporate mafia.
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Their promise to “Selamatkan Malaysia” (save the country) electrified people back in 2018 but it has become a fairy tale with no happily-ever-after ending.
Umno used to be a prime attack target but that is not possible now that DAP leaders are sitting at the same table as Umno leaders.
As such, a lot of the campaign to woo the Chinese votes has shifted to attacking MCA.
“It has gone down to the level of character assassination and personal attacks. What kind of narrative is that?” said lawyer and former MCA vice-president Gan Ping Sieu, who grew up in Johor's Kluang district.
An aide to a Johor leader said Pakatan’s dilemma is that they seem unable to decide on strategy and focus.
“Do they campaign to be the next state government or to be a stronger opposition? Pakatan, being in the Federal Government, has a national narrative to sell except that it is not exactly a success story,” said the aide.
Johor’s Chinese roots lie in its numerous Chinese new villages that have fanned out to become a substantial part of the local economy.
Pakatan’s survival hinges on these areas as well as the urban Chinese who make up the Johor Baru metropolitan area. The Islamist policies of PAS scares this cohort out of their wits.
As a result, the smear campaign against MCA has since veered into allegations of a secret pact between Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional.
It is quite an effective way to scare the Chinese from supporting Barisan. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong was quite incredulous when asked about that.
“They must be joking. What secret pact are they talking about when we are fighting Perikatan in so many seats? This is a serious election, don’t turn it into a wayang (show),” he countered.
Do DAP leaders have mirrors in their homes? They are a fine one to be accusing others of working with PAS when DAP has shared the same house and bed with PAS in two general elections while the Teresa Teng song, The Moon Reflects My Heart, played in the bedroom.
According to the above aide, there was speculation that the national leadership of Umno and PAS wanted to use the Johor election as a “pilot project” for Malay unity but Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Onn Hafiz Ghazi apparently stood by his decision that Barisan would contest all 56 state seats.
DAP, it is said, is out to cripple the two “Ma” which sounds like “horse” in Chinese - Ma Hua (MCA) and Ak Ma (the Chinese pronunciation for Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh).
But Pakatan cannot be too harsh about the Mentri Besar because Onn is hard-working and his appeal cuts across race lines.
But Onn’s declaration about not sitting at the same table with DAP is still a campaign topic. The opposition has seized on his foot-in-the-mouth fiasco to imply that in not respecting DAP leaders, Onn is disrespecting the Chinese who support DAP.
The Chinese media, in an interview with Nga who is the Housing and Local Government Minister, reproduced pictures of him and the Mentri Besar sitting together like old friends.
The controversial DAP advocate Hew Kuan Yau, better known as “Superman”, has also joined the fray.
On nomination day, “Superman” appealed to the Chinese to vote for the new faces fielded by DAP in Yong Peng and Paloh.
He asked the Chinese not to support MCA incumbents Ling Tian Soon (Yong Peng) and Lee Ting Han (Paloh), saying that the pair were favourites of the Mentri Besar who would reward them with posts if they lost.
Yong Peng’s Tian Soon, known as Ah Soon to all and sundry, immediately retaliated saying: “If I lose, I will not accept any nominated posts”.
DAP is still sore about losing Yong Peng, once its stronghold, to MCA in 2022 and on Saturday night, DAP held a ceramah that came with a durian feast.
Incidentally, Lee, who is defending his seat in Paloh, is a first-class honours graduate who went on to further his studies in Cambridge University.
“I know the Chinese do not like Umno. But tell me, which party can stop the green wave? Certainly not DAP or any of the parties in Pakatan.
“You do not have to love Umno or accept their Youth leader. But the only Malay party that can stop PAS is Umno. That is the reality,” said Gan.
Pakatan’s edge over the other parties lies in Anwar who got a much-needed boost as the latest Merdeka Center survey showed him with a comfortable 52% approval rating. He will be the driving force to keep Pakatan on course in Johor.
Umno’s own top general is not well-accepted but Umno has a younger soldier, Khairy Jamaluddin, who came in second with a 50% approval rating.
Many Malaysians of all races see Khairy as a face of the future. He should be sent out to woo the young voters in Johor.