Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi has revealed that advice from the Johor royal institution played a major role in his decision to personally apologise to UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi after publicly calling for him to step down following Barisan Nasional’s poor performance in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Speaking in the 200th episode of the Keluar Sekejap political podcast, Onn Hafiz admitted that both Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim privately advised him that his earlier remarks had gone too far.
“They told me it was okay to apologise and meet my president. We have a state to govern,” he said during the podcast.
Onn Hafiz explained that he later met Zahid personally and apologised without placing any conditions on the matter.
“I apologised if my statement had hurt his feelings. Alhamdulillah, I believe he has forgiven me,” he said.
He added that from both a party and administrative perspective, the issue is now considered resolved.
The revelation surfaced after podcast co-host Shahril Hamdan pointed out that Onn Hafiz was the first UMNO leader to openly urge Zahid to resign after GE15, yet did not face disciplinary action.
“You were the first to say it. I was only the second, but I got suspended,” Shahril joked during the conversation.
Onn Hafiz did not dodge the issue, replying that he had received guidance from the Johor palace at the time and had also “prayed a lot,” triggering laughter from those present.
Barisan Nasional secured only 30 parliamentary seats in GE15, sparking internal pressure within UMNO for Zahid to follow the example of former prime minister Najib Razak, who stepped down as BN chairman after the coalition’s defeat in GE14.
The candid confession has reignited discussions over party unity, leadership accountability and the influence of royal institutions in shaping political stability in Johor.
