Why Indians Should Back BN's Onn Hafiz

By R. Muralitharan

Johor’s state polls are coming, and for the Indian community the question is simple: who actually delivers when the cameras are off?

The opening of the Sri Maha Muniswarar Hall in Ulu Tiram on Sunday (31 May 2026) by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi gives a clear answer: look at results, not rhetoric.

From Stalled Site To Community Hub

Construction of Sri Maha Muniswarar Hall began in 1999, stalled for years, and was left derelict by 2016. 

In 2022, Onn visited the site and approved RM500,000 on the spot to restart work. 

Today it is a modern hall for education, weddings, welfare, and cultural programmes. 

Indian community leaders call it proof that the Johor state government and Barisan Nasional (BN) listen and act at grassroots level.

Schools And Dignity For The Last Rites

For Indian families, education and dignity at life’s end matter most. 

Under Onn, the state approved two new National Type Tamil Schools (SJKT), SJKT Impian Emas and SJKT Taman Universiti, at a time when new SJKT approvals have been stalled nationally for years. 

The Indian community also secured RM1.9 million for the Kompleks Upacara Terakhir Hindu at Kampung Telok Jawa, with land granted by the Sultan of Johor. 

The complex includes a crematorium serving Tebrau and Pasir Gudang and was officiated by Onn himself on Monday (1June 2926). 
 

There have also been 17 new Hindu temple land approvals statewide. 

BN under Onn also delivers daily support. From Bantuan Kasih Johor to food basket aid, Indian families have received help during cost of living pressures.

Promises vs Delivery: BN Delivers

For decades, DAP and Pakatan Harapan (PH) politicised Indian issues. 

New Tamil schools, temple land gazettement, proper burial and cremation facilities were raised in manifestos and ceramah long before 2008.

But when PH finally held power, the record tells a different story.

In Johor, PH administered the state for 22 months from May 2018 to March 2020. 

In that time, no attempt was made to resolve the key Indian issues they had been raising for years. 

No new SJKT approvals, no progress on temple land gazettement, no movement on burial and cremation facilities. 

The abandoned dewan in Ulu Tiram remained untouched until BN under Onn stepped in with funding and political will in 2022.

In Penang, PH has governed since 2008. Yet the state’s Hindu final rites centre was delayed for years amid internal conflict, and only opened much later after prolonged debate. 

What should have been a priority for a state they held longest took far too long to deliver.

In Selangor, another PH stronghold since 2008, Indian issues such as SJKT maintenance and temple land gazettement continue to face delays and bureaucracy despite years of control.

BN under Onn is now showing the contrast between campaign slogans and signed approvals. 

Within 3 years in Johor: two new SJKTs approved, RM1.9 million for the last rites complex secured, and 17 temple land approvals statewide. 

Files that were politicised for years are finally moving.

Why Stability Matters

State polls are won on local issues such as temple land titles, SJKT maintenance, cemetery gazettement, and crematorium facilities. 

BN under Onn has already proven, with its state machinery, that it can move these files. 

Changing course now means another learning curve and more delays. 

Johor Indians cannot afford that when momentum is finally here.

The dewan’s official opening proves one thing: when the state government and Rakyat move together, nothing is impossible. 

For Johor Indians, backing Onn and BN is not about party loyalty. 

It is about protecting progress that is already on the ground: new schools for our children, and a dignified final resting place for our elders.