“All are my friends, and the big Johor Umno family will be appreciated and celebrated,” he said in a statement today after being appointed as the state chief on Friday night.

Khaled said his appointment was not made to strengthen any camp within the party, emphasising that it is to “fix and restore” the party’s strength.

“My main focus is to ensure that the unity in Umno is preserved,” he said. “Politics has its ups and downs. Accept it as the ebb and flow of our struggles. InshaAllah, we’ll see the meaning to all of it soon.”

Earlier today, former menteri besar Hasni Mohammad said he felt “bullied” after he was replaced by Khaled as the Johor Umno chief.

Hasni, who is also the Simpang Renggam MP, said he had worked hard for Johor Umno since helming it in 2018, overseeing Barisan Nasional’s convincing win in the Johor state elections last March when it won 40 out of the 56 seats.