The issue of the Kedah menteri besar being away in Kuala Lumpur most of the time and hardly being seen in Kedah are among the reasons for Umno leaders to lose confidence in Mukhriz Mahathir's leadership, says deputy Kedah Umno liaison committee chairperson Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah.

He said the issue had been repeatedly raised by Kedah Umno leaders but was left unaddressed by Mukhriz.

Ahmad Bashah said they were worried that the issue would affect the operations of Umno and BN machineries in facing the next general election.

"We want the Kedah Umno liaison committee chairperson to be replaced, and also for the menteri besar to be changed. I'm not the only one who feels this way, you can ask other leaders in Umno, MCA, MIC, Gerakan," he told reporters when met at the Bakar Bata State Constituency Service Centre, Alor Setar today.

The political atmosphere in Kedah has heated up in the past few days when Mukhriz came under pressure from several Kedah state assemblymen and members of Parliament as well as Umno senior state leaders led by Ahmad Bashah who openly voiced that they had lost confidence in Mukhriz as menteri besar and state Umno liaison committee chairperson.

Ahmad Bashah said in the early stage after Mukhriz was appointed as menteri besar after the 13th general election, Kedah Umno appeared to be very strong.

"However, after the Umno election (end of 2013), people started to feel it. Many claimed that they could hardly meet him.

“Either it was he who made it hard (for people to see him) or the people around him who made it difficult, because all appointments must go through his officers first.

"There was a time, at the (Kedah Umno liaison) committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur last year, 10 (out of 15) division leaders were absent, but no efforts were taken (by Mukhriz) to find out why," he said.

Ahmad Bashah, who is also Bakar Bata assemblyperson, also refuted the allegation that he was given an instruction to openly voice his lost of confidence in Mukhriz's leadership.

"If people think that I want to sabotage him, (they should know that) I could do that long time ago, but I supported him and made way for him despite the fact that I was the state Umno liaison committee chairperson and BN election director then," he said.

- Bernama