‘Bangsa Johor will be upheld’

JOHOR BARU: Newly minted Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian, 67, said his administration would uphold the “Bangsa Johor” con-cept.

Osman, who is the 16th Johor Mentri Besar, said the term was not created by Barisan Nasional or Umno and was for all Johoreans.

“Even our state anthem is Bangsa Johor,” he told reporters after taking his oath of office before Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, at Istana Bukit Serene.

Osman said his first task was to suggest candidates to fill the positions of 10 executive councillors, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker to His Majesty.

The Johor Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia secretary won the Kempas seat on May 9 and is taking over the helm from predecessor Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who lost the Pasir Gudang parliamentary and Permas state seats.

Osman received 21,137 votes, beating Datuk Ramlee Bohani from Barisan who got 11,959 votes and Dzulkifli Sulaiman from PAS who got 2,321 votes.

Osman added that Johor Pakatan did not hold grudges against the previous state government.

He also said the Muafakat Johor tagline coined by Khaled would be replaced by Harapan Johor.

Osman was born in Segamat on Dec 25, 1951 and is married to Datin Nora Md Som, 70.

They have seven children, four boys and three girls.

He holds a degree in accountancy from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia and was previously the deputy manager at DNC Bank Bhd and Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd.

He served three-terms as Kempas assemblyman from 1999 to 2012 while in Umno.

Also present at the ceremony were the Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim.