Umno Youth fires back at DAP over criticism of Johor economy

Umno Youth has slammed DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke for taking a dig at the BN-led Johor government for supposedly overclaiming its economic achievements.

This followed Loke’s speech at a recent Pakatan Harapan convention, where he discussed Putrajaya’s contributions to the Johor economy at length and urged “certain parties” not to “claim everything” as their accomplishment.

In a statement, Umno Youth secretary Hafiz Ariffin said that while no one denies the federal government’s role in the economy, facts show Johor receives less than what it contributes.

He cited recent reports by the Statistics Department and the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), which showed Johor contributed the most among all states in 2024 at about RM158 billion, or 9.6 percent.

“When the IRB reported that its tax collection from our state was about RM203.9 billion (in 2025), it was estimated that the (economic) activities in Johor contributed close to RM20 billion to federal revenue (last year).

“So what does this mean? It means that Johor has been generating more than what it gets,” the Sembrong Umno Youth chief said in a video statement posted on Facebook.

‘Incomplete projects shouldn’t be counted’

Hafiz also criticised Loke for saying that the federal government had contributed some RM14.6 billion to Johor, saying the number was inclusive of the state’s operating and development expenditure, among other things.

The Sembrong Umno Youth chief also criticised the numbers cited by Loke in his speech, where he mentioned the federal government had contributed some RM14.6 billion to Johor.

“On top of this, the RM14.6 billion also accounted for projects still in the planning stage, like the Sultanah Aminah 2 Hospital, the Automated Rapid Transit scheduled for completion in 2030, and the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia Teaching Hospital.

“All these projects are not completed, but their values have been included (in the presentation) as if they have benefited the rakyat.

“Announcing future projects is not the same as actually spending the money for the people,” he stressed.

‘If that is how you want to play it…’

Hafiz then questioned the motive and timing of such a narrative by Harapan, which came days after Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi announced that BN would go solo in the next state election.

He called for Harapan not to use federal contributions to Johor as a political tool and to try to create the perception that the BN-led state administration was overclaiming its achievements and being ungrateful.

“The question is, why do you suddenly want to emphasise these kinds of calculations?

“Are political alliances going to be used as the yardstick for development?

“If that is how you want to play it, then I think when the time comes, the people in Johor will also know how to do their own calculations,” Hafiz said.

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