Johor called for an election much earlier than expected, likely because BN was anticipating a major victory. However, by the looks of it, BN may end up being the Johor elections biggest loser of all.
BN currently holds 40 of Johor's 56 seats. If it fails to exceed that number, it will be a disappointment. If it wins fewer than 35 seats, it will be a major defeat, even if it still manages to form the state government.
A party, by the way, needs only 29 seats to govern Johor.
As it is, BN's commander-in-chief in Johor, Onn Hafiz Ghazi, is already being accused of playing racial politics with his remark that he would not "sit at the same table as DAP."
Unapologetic, Onn has continued to double down on his refusal to "sit at the same table with DAP."
A few days ago, the Crown Prince of Johor also made strong remarks against the federal government while tacitly appearing supportive of BN Johor, raising questions about whether the Johor Palace, can be expected to act as an impartial referee in the election, or whether has a favourite in the contest.
Today, to remove all doubt, Puad Zarkashi openly claimed that the Johor Palace not only has a favourite in the Johor election, but is in fact calling the shots for UMNO Johor.
"UMNO Johor is controlled by the Palace when it comes to making decisions.
"One clear piece of evidence is that Dato' Onn Hafiz himself admitted this to me during a meeting at Saujana on 21 June 2026 (Sunday). He informed me that it was the Palace that instructed him to dissolve the Johor State Legislative Assembly (DUN) on 1 June 2026," Puad said in a statement posted on Facebook today.
After making the allegation, Puad also left UMNO, a party he had been a member of for more than 30 years.
UMNO has already begun damage-control efforts.
UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki responded by claiming that Puad's decision to leave the party was related to his failure to secure a nomination for his son in the Rengit state constituency, and not due to the alleged interference of the Palace in UMNO Johor's affairs.
"In fact, he himself wrote to me at great length, threatening to leave the party and attack the party if the UMNO top leadership did not consider his son as a candidate for the Rengit state seat.
"It is true that his son is still young and has great potential to be groomed and elevated as a leader. However, the party must take many factors into consideration when selecting a candidate for any election," Asyraf said about Puad in a statement on Facebook today.
I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to believe that Puad would put in writing a threat to leave and attack the party if his son was not selected as a candidate.
I also do not see Asyraf's and Puad's statements as necessarily contradictory.
After all, both could be true.
For example, based on what both men have said, one possible conclusion is that Puad believes his son was not chosen as a candidate because the Johor Palace—which he alleges controls UMNO Johor—did not approve of his son's candidacy.
In any case, I find Puad's accusation stronger than Asyraf's denial because, rightly or wrongly, the Johor Palace is already widely perceived as favouring UMNO.
As a result, Puad's claim that the Palace favours UMNO Johor because it is effectively directing UMNO Johor's decisions is likely to resonate with many voters.
As for the impact of Puad's allegation on UMNO Johor, I believe it will be negative.
In 2026, no one—not only in Malaysia, but across the world—want to be governed by hereditary rulers.
If Puad's allegation gains public acceptance, and I believe there is a strong possibility that it will, it could strengthen public sentiment against excessive royal influence in the democratic process.
That, in turn, may hurt BN and UMNO Johor in the July 11 Johor election.
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