JOHOR BARU - Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi was appointed the new Johor menteri besar on Tuesday (March 15), following the state polls on Saturday that brought back Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) into power on its own steam.

The choice of newly-elected assemblyman, 43, for the top post was a surprise as BN had campaigned that the former incumbent chief minister, Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad, would again be made menteri besar should BN win.

Mr Onn was sworn in before Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar.

Mr Onn is a great-grandson of Umno founder Onn Jaafar, and nephew of Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

In last weekend's election, BN won a super majority of 40 state seats out of 56 contested in Johor, with opposition Pakatan Harapan winning 13 and Perikatan Nasional (PN) taking just three seats.

Previously, BN - led by Mr Hasni - ruled Johor with a narrow majority with support frm the PN parties Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia.

PH - which included Bersatu - had taken power in Johor in the 2018 general election, the first time that Johor slipped from the hands of Umno in its birthplace state.

But PH the alliance collapsed in early 2020, mirroring the PH collapse at the federal level when Bersatu left PH.

During the just-concluded Johor state election, Mr Hasni was branded the "poster boy" for Umno-BN and would lead the state again.

But he surprised many people on Monday when he was still not sworn-in by the sultan, leading to speculation of royal intervention in the choice of the state's menteri besar.

And then Mr Hasni, 62, issued a statement suggesting that Umno-BN should pick someone younger to lead the state.

Mr Hasni said: "Seeing the support and position of the younger generation who are important in the development of Johor, and for the sake of the state's lasting prosperity, I suggest that the party leadership elect young people to lead Johor.

"God willing, under the new leadership, the state will be more prosperous.

"As I said on the eve of Barisan victory over the course of the day, there is no political ideology, politician and political party that is bigger, more important and more prominent than Johor."

Former Umno federal Cabinet minister Tan Sri Shahrir Samad wrote on Facebook that it was "embarrassing" that Mr Hasni who had led BN to a two-third sweep of the seats in the polls was not reappointed menteri besar.

“Umno was certain that Datuk Hasni Mohammad was the menteri besar," Mr Shahrir wrote on Monday evening. “But it wasn’t strong enough it seems and Johor Umno can’t do anything about it. It’s embarrassing."