JOHOR BAHRU: The Malaysian Chinese community is invited by Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi to join the state government in building a beautiful Johor.

“Johor is full of potential. We have no time to doubt each other but to focus on development together,” he said.

In an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily, Onn Hafiz said, “We are Bangsa Johor.”

He said in Mandarin: “We are one family.”

“My vision is to unite all the people in the state. Skin color is not important to me. I am color-blind when it comes to helping the people,” he said.

Onn Hafiz said his team visited districts in the state, including Chinese primary schools, national primary schools and Tamil primary schools. He also visited places of worship such as Chinese temples to provide allocations.

This is the first time Onn Hafiz is interviewed by the Chinese media after be was appointed menteri besar in March.

The state government will be bringing good news to the people over the next few months, offering affordable homes for all races and launching housing projects with rent-first-buy-later concept.

The state housing department finds the policy fair to all races and the state government is negotiating with housing developers on possible collaboration to ensure that the projects are completed efficiently.

Before announcing a project, Onn Hafiz said the state government would have face-to-face discussion with the developer to convey the people’s wish while the developers explain the interests involved.

“The state government plans to build 22,000 to 25,000 units of affordable homes over the next four to five years. This is an important agenda for the state to create a win-win situation for both the developers and the people,” he said.

On his favorite Chinese dishes, the menteri besar said he likes dim sum, salted egg prawns, Chinese style fried rice and Hong Kong style steamed fish.

Onn Hafiz visited Chinese schools in July and attended the graduation ceremony of Southern University College, Foon Yew High School Masai and met the local Chinese community leaders at a Chinese coffee shop in Kulai.

He is the first Johor menteri besar to have coffee at a Chinese-run coffee shop in Kulai.

Prior to this, Onn Hafiz has spoken some lines in Mandarin in several events, and spoke at least seven short sentences in Mandarin while delivering his speech at Southern University College’s graduation ceremony.