Today’s Malaysia is governed by a unity government that is anything but unified. Mr Anwar’s PH holds office, but is dependent on UMNO-led BN and the Borneo parties for its parliamentary majority.
With the centre so weakened, the Borneo agitation is spreading to the peninsula. New powerpoints have emerged; royal assertiveness, state-level nationalism and a growing realisation that Putrajaya’s coffers are no longer bottomless.
JOHOR A TEST CASE
Johor is fast emerging as a test case amid a state-federal tug-of-war going back since mid-2024.
Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the Johor regent, first raised the issue more than two years ago, arguing that “Johor does not belong to Malaysia. We are partners, so you must start treating us like partners”.
He raised the rhetoric dramatically by claiming that Johor contributes approximately RM48 billion (US$11.8 billion) in tax revenue but only receives about RM1.4 billion through the annual budget, which amounts to less than 3 per cent.
Read the full article here
