For decades, Umno was the party that defined power in Malaysia. Now, after years of scandal, defeat and uneasy coalition politics, it is turning to its birthplace of Johor to prove it can still win on its own terms.
The southern state’s snap election will test whether the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) can still attract Malay voters, defend its strongest remaining state government and hold off both Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s allies and the Malay-Muslim opposition, analysts said.
Johor, which borders Singapore, dissolved its legislature on Monday, triggering an election that must be held within 60 days. A date for the state election is expected to be announced within days.
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For Umno, the state carries unusual political weight. It is the party’s birthplace, the safest major state government held by the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and one of Malaysia’s most closely watched investment corridors, with the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the coming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System rail link giving the election campaign a strong economic backdrop.
Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who is from Umno and chairs Johor BN, said the dissolution was meant to ask voters for a new mandate and ensure the state continued to have “a stable and strong government”.
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Nur Jazlan Mohamed, an Umno Supreme Council member, told This Week in Asia that the coming vote was not about whether BN felt confident enough to face voters early but whether voters still valued a government that could deliver.