PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday urged Johoreans to look beyond race-based politics and back a vision of inclusive governance, as campaigning for the July 11 state election increasingly centred on competing political narratives rather than policy alone.
Addressing a dinner with the Chinese community, the Pakatan Harapan chairman said he hoped to leave behind a legacy of clean, fair and dedicated leadership that served every Malaysian regardless of race.
“Every single citizen in this country is important. As prime minister, I must serve everybody,” he said.
Anwar said he wanted to be remembered as a leader who “loved the people, and the people loved him back”, adding that Malaysia could only progress if its people worked together as one nation.
He also urged Malaysians to move past racial politics, saying it was time to focus on nation-building after nearly seven decades of independence.
“We’ve been independent for nearly 70 years, yet we’re still fighting over race,” he said.
While stressing that the federal government would continue driving Johor’s development regardless of the election outcome, Anwar said a strong working relationship between Putrajaya and the state administration would help expedite development plans.
He also called on Johoreans working in Singapore and other parts of the country to return home to cast their ballots on July 11, saying voter turnout across all communities would be crucial.
The campaign also saw Pakatan leaders push back against attempts to link the state election to former prime minister Najib Razak’s legal fate after his son, Nazifuddin, suggested a strong Barisan Nasional victory would reflect public support for a royal pardon.
Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin dismissed the argument, telling supporters at a ceramah in Gersik that Najib had already been convicted.
“Najib has already been convicted,” he said, before asking the crowd whether they agreed with the former prime minister being released from prison.
Muhyiddin also recalled how he had questioned the 1MDB scandal while serving as Najib’s deputy prime minister, saying the dispute ultimately cost him his Cabinet position in 2015.
PKR deputy secretary-general Aidi Amin Yazid likewise rejected the suggestion that the election should be viewed through the lens of Najib’s imprisonment.
“A state election is aimed at determining who forms the next state government and not a referendum to a legal or personal matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, PH also defended its election manifesto after Umno leader Khairy Jamaluddin accused the coalition of copying Barisan Nasional’s pledges.
PKR vice-president Roland Engan said the similarities reflected shared public concerns rather than imitation.
“It does not mean that it is a ‘copy paste’ job. It merely underscores that political parties understand the issues faced by the people,” he said.
Roland said PH’s manifesto was formulated through extensive engagement with Johoreans and argued that the real distinction between manifestos lay not in the promises made, but in the ability to deliver them.
“A manifesto is a commitment to voters. Those who belittle the manifesto of their rivals are in fact ridiculing the needs of the people,” he said. – July 5, 2026
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