Barisan Nasional (BN) retained control of Johor after winning 48 of the 56 seats contested in the 16th Johor state election, securing a stronger two-thirds majority and improving on the 40 seats it captured in the 2022 polls.
The Election Commission (EC) announced the full results at about 1am today, with Puteri Wangsa, won by Pakatan Harapan (PH), being the final seat declared.
PH secured the remaining eight seats, while Perikatan Nasional (PN), Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), Parti Orang Asli Malaysia (ASLI) and six independent candidates failed to win any seats.
Within BN, Umno won 36 seats, MCA secured all eight seats it contested and MIC won all four of its seats. PH’s victories comprised six seats for DAP, one for PKR and one for Amanah.
The result marks an improvement for BN, which increased its representation by eight seats from the previous state election, while PN lost all three seats it held after failing to defend Bukit Kepong, Endau and Maharani.
DAP also suffered heavy losses, winning only six of the 17 seats it contested after losing former strongholds Johor Jaya, Tangkak, Jementah and Perling to MCA and MIC.
Johor BN chairman Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi described the outcome as a strong mandate from the people to continue serving Johoreans and addressing issues affecting Bangsa Johor.
He said BN accepted the victory with gratitude and humility and would continue working to improve the well-being of the people.
PKR election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari thanked Johoreans for fulfilling their democratic responsibility and congratulated the successful candidates, saying the results would strengthen PH’s role as a credible and principled opposition in the state assembly.
Johor PAS, meanwhile, said it respected and accepted the outcome as the democratic choice of the people in determining the state’s leadership.
Among the notable contests, Onn Hafiz comfortably retained the Machap seat after defeating PH’s Nur Hafiz Roslan by a majority of 15,375 votes.
Former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik won the five-cornered contest in Puteri Wangsa for PH, while former health minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba regained Pasir Raja, a seat he had previously represented for two terms.
All nine incumbent Johor executive councillors who were renominated successfully defended their seats.
The election also saw two Members of Parliament defeated by BN candidates, with Onn Abu Bakar losing in Senggarang and Suhaizan Kayat defeated in Larkin.
Meanwhile, Ayer Hitam Umno division chief Datuk Samsolbari Jamali made history by retaining Semarang for a sixth consecutive term.
A total of 172 candidates contested the election, comprising 56 candidates each from BN and PH, 33 from PN, 15 from Bersama, four from MUDA, six independents, and one candidate each from PSM and ASLI. Polling was held yesterday involving about 2.7 million registered voters.
