"Awkward" was how Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin described Pagoh Umno's annual delegates' meeting today.

Khaled said this was because, for the first time, Muhyiddin Yassin was not present at the division's meeting which he had led for 22 years until his sacking from the party.

Khaled went on to recall his old memories with Muhyiddin before Umno delegates gathered at Kompleks Seri Pekembar in Pagoh.

"Truthfully, I feel awkward when visiting Pagoh, and not seeing Muhyiddin here.

"I can still remember every second day of Hari Raya, I would come to this very building to celebrate with Muhyiddin and Pagoh Umno members.

"We know that Pagoh is synonymous with Muhyiddin and personally, I see Muhyiddin as a comrade and former party member who had contributed immensely to Umno, Pagoh, Johor, religion and race," he told some 300 Umno members when officiating the gathering.

After the ceremony, Khaled was asked if he still missed Muhyiddin but he merely responded with a smile.

'Ties will never be cut'

Khaled said regardless of what Muhyiddin does, Johor Umno will never cut ties with Muhyiddin.

"Johor Umno's stance is that whatever happens between Muhyiddin and Umno, we will never forget his contributions.

"And most importantly, we will never burn our bridge of friendship simply because of political mistakes, differences in opinion and stance," he said.

Despite Khaled's nostalgia for Muhyiddin, the Permas state assemblyperson did not want other party members to follow in his footsteps.

Muhyiddin, who was Umno deputy president, was in June sacked from the party and had since moved to form a new splinter party in the form of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

Khaled advised party members not to quit Umno simply because of certain people in the party.

He did not name who they were, but said Umno as a whole should not be faulted for the wrongs committed by these people.

"The party is not wrong, only certain people become the source of the problem. It should not represent Umno as a whole," he said.

Khaled said he understood that some Pagoh Umno members were still unhappy, but urged them to move on.

"It should not be a reason for us to leave Umno, Being here today, I understand your feelings. Some are still sad or angry, but are moving forward and leaving the past crisis behind," he said.

Muhyiddin was first removed as deputy prime minister in July last year before being sacked from the party almost a year later.

He had been critical of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's handling of 1MDB and the multi-billion deposits in his personal bank accounts.

Najib had denied all wrongdoing and said he had never taken public funds for personal gain.