Johor MB to sit out central Umno election, focus on state

Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi will not be contesting for any central positions in the upcoming Umno party elections.

However, he will be contesting for the Simpang Renggam Umno division chief position.

“I have made the decision to continue focusing on serving the state of Johor and InsyaAllah will continue to strengthen the administration and development of Johor.

“Hence, I will not be offering myself for any position at the central level but with humility, would like to offer myself for the position of the Simpang Renggam Umno division chief for this election,” Onn Hafiz (above) said in a statement on Facebook today.

He said he consulted his family, friends, other leaders, and the grassroots in Simpang Renggam before making this decision.

The Machap assemblyperson said he made this decision so he can focus on his constituency as well as Johor as a whole.

Onn Hafiz was among the first in the party to call for Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to resign following BN’s poor showing in the 15th general election (GE15).

Others who also urged Zahid to resign were then Umno supreme council member Noh Omar and information chief Shahril Hamdan.

However, Zahid’s position as party president was strengthened on Jan 14 after the Umno general assembly consented to a motion for the posts of president and deputy president not to be contested in the coming party polls.

Noh and Shahril were later suspended as part of an Umno purge at the end of January, though Noh opted to be sacked instead. Onn Hafiz was unscathed during the purge.

During the purge, Benut state assemblyperson Hasni Mohammad was replaced as the Johor Umno chief by Kota Tinggi MP Khaled Nordin.

Hasni then claimed he was being “bullied” by the Umno leadership, alleging that this started during the Johor state election last March.

Though he was BN’s menteri besar candidate, Hasni conceded he would not get the position after the coalition won the state polls.

Onn Hafiz was sworn in as the menteri besar instead. - Mkini