Jakarta, IO – Chief Minister of Johor Onn Hafiz Ghazi suddenly became a sensation on social media after his speech, in which he cited a Javanese expression, went viral, reported CNN Indonesia, Wednesday (18/1).
In a footage uploaded by Instagram account @viralpressid, Onn was seen addressing the Johor state parliament in Malay. He talked about the Johor Sultanate’s commitment to helping its citizens regardless of ethnicity, religion, status or heritage.
In the middle of his speech, Onn then cited expressions in several foreign languages, including Javanese.
“We are truly a colour-blind state when it comes to helping the people of the state of Johor or in other languages, with your permission Mr. Chairman, kito iki buto worno. Kabeh podo wae (we are color blind. We are all the same).”
An MP then asked whether Onn spoke Javanese. Onn smiled and replied that he was just “trying.”
On that occasion, Onn also used Mandarin and Tamil. Onn’s use of Javanese was widely commented by Indonesian netizens. Some joked that he might have lived on Java. “Curiga wong Nganjuk iki [I suspect he is the resident of Nganjuk],” wrote one netizen, referring to a town in East Java.
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Onn Hafiz Ghazi is the 19th Chief Minister of Johor who assumed the office in March 2022. He is the great-grandson of Onn Jaafar, the founder of UMNO. He is also the grandson of Hussein Onn, the 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia. (un)