A couple of months ago, Onn Hafiz was flying high as the biggest winner in Johor.
He was seen as one of Johor’s most successful Menteris Besar in recent times, and he had become so prominent in UMNO that it appeared he could make his own decisions, relatively independent of what UMNO central desired.
He was flying so high that he even called for an early Johor election, confident that he would be able to retain, or perhaps even exceed, UMNO and BN’s two-thirds control of the state assembly.
Well, as they say, a week is a long time in politics — and by that measure, a couple of months is an eternity.
As it stands today, not only has Onn Hafiz’s winner’s aura dimmed significantly, it may even be the case that he will enter the upcoming Johor election weighed down by the image of an “arrogant, racist, and puppet-like” leader.
If he is unable to shake off that perception, he may even emerge from the Johor election as its biggest loser.
Onn Hafiz’s troubles began when he remarked that he would “not sit at the same table with DAP.” While it was understood that he meant Barisan Nasional does not intend to form a unity government with any other party, his choice of words was criticised for carrying racial undertones. After all, he could have simply stated that BN intends to govern alone or that it has no plans to cooperate with other parties, instead of singling out DAP — widely perceived as representing non-Malay political interests — in a way that was bound to be interpreted through Malaysia’s racial political lens.
But despite being called out as racist and arrogant by multiple parties, instead of clarifying or softening his position, Onn Hafiz essentially chose to do a “Donald Trump” — cursorily brushing off the accusation that he was racist and doubling down on his stance that he would not cooperate with anyone in forming the Johor government.
For a time, this hardline posture seemed to work in his favour. It projected strength. It made him appear like a decisive leader who would not be cowed by criticism.
However, the latest accusation by his own party colleague, UMNO Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi, that his administration is merely a “puppet” of the Johor Palace, risks reshaping that image entirely. It not only paints him as a “yes man,” but may also revive the earlier perceptions of arrogance and racial insensitivity that had begun to fade.
We must remember that Onn only managed to put down the image of being a "racist" or of being "arrogant" by establishing the image of a strong and sovereign leader, who will say what he thinks and do what he sees fit, regardless of how he might be criticized for it.
However, if he is is seen as puppet or a yes man, he will lose the image of a strong and sovereign leader, which will then resurrect the question as to why can't humble himself and explain why he said "he will not sit with DAP at the same table." It is not as if he is not used to bowing down or humbling himself, so why choose to be so proud and defiant only when it comes to DAP.
The Johor election is set for 11 July, and politics being the art of the possible, one can expect the BN machinery to mount a counteroffensive to neutralise perceptions that Johor BN is racist, arrogant, and subservient.
So let’s wait and see what Johor BN comes up with in the final stretch before polling day.
If it doesn't come up with anything good, and Johor BN arrives at voting day with the perception that it is arrogant, racist and a puppet weighing it down like a Thai ghost sitting on its shoulders, it may have to contend with yet another harsh label: that of the biggest loser, that went from being the apex winner in Johor to its greatest political casualty, in the span of just a few months.
Let’s see how the cookies crumble.
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