ONN Hafiz Ghazi may not have been Umno’s choice for Johor menteri besar but it is a reality that has happened, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

“Although we ordered one item online, the item that arrived was different,” said the Umno president during his policy speech at the 2021 Umno general assembly in the World Trade Centre today. 

Johor Umno chief Hasni Mohammad will always be Umno’s pride and joy, said Zahid as the delegates gave a standing ovation for the former MB. 

Zahid also signalled Umno’s acceptance by asking the delegates to also give a standing ovation to the new Johor MB. 

Hasni was also given a standing ovation by the youth delegates yesterday and Puteri chief Zahida Zarik Khan even proposed for the party to let him contest a parliamentary seat in 15th general election.

Hasni was expected to be reappointed MB after Barisan Nasional (BN) won 40 out of 56 seats in the Johor elections. 

But despite BN’s promise and the support of 38 of the 40 newly elected assemblymen, 42-year-old Onn Hafiz pipped the 62-year-old Hasni to the job on March 15. 

The Umno annual general assembly, which started yesterday, will continue until tomorrow with a total of 5,571 delegates from 191 divisions participating. – March 18, 2022.