Several Kedah Umno grassroots members registered their unhappiness that Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir was not included in the supreme council.

NONE Kushahrom Ku Ahmad ( right ) from Langkawi said it appears that the central leadership did not appreciate the state members' effort to wrest back Kedah in the last general election.

"We went all out with the sole aim to gain back the state from Pakatan Rakyat...but in the end, we get nothing in return," she said when met at the Wanita Umno assembly today.

Mukhriz, the son of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, failed to make the cut for the nine appointed slots on the Umno supreme council last week.

Previously, he lost in a six-cornered fight for the party vice-president post.

NONE Another Wanita member from Langkawi, Ku Arfah Ku Bin ( left ), said she felt Kedah Umno has been sidelined by the central leadership.

"Though we accept that Mukhriz lost in party polls, but what is so hard in appointing him as a supreme council member?" she asked.

A Youth delegate from Kedah, who declined to give his name, however said Mukhriz and the leadership should focus to make the country a better place.

“Well, he could focus to make Kedah a better place without the burden of being a supreme council member. The leadership has made it peaceful and now we are working for the GE14,” he told Malaysiakini.

Azlan Baharuddin, a grassroots member from Alor Star, said there might yet be a place for Mukhriz after an appointee, Mohammad Kazim Elias, declined the offer to join the supreme council.

“The chances are slim, yes, but Mukhriz might after all be chosen to join after this,” he said

Another Jitra grassroots member, who only wanted to be known as Din, said  Mukhriz should make use of his time and turn Kedah as a model state.

“Yes, it is unfair, but now there is a chance to show the people what he really could to with our state (Kedah). This way, the opposition would not win it back,” he said.

Mahathir resigned on the same day

As Mukhriz’s fate in the party was finalised after the supreme council member list unveiled on Nov 29, his father Dr Mahathir tendered his resignation as Petronas adviser.

The two occasions taking place almost simultaneously had drawn much speculations from certain quarters, although Dr Mahathir reportedly said that his resignation was due to old age and health reasons.

To this, veteran pressman A Kadir Jasin had, in his blog, written that Mahathir’s resignation was a chance for him to say and write things about the government without having to look over his shoulders.

“He is not beholden to the government any more. Although he was quoted as saying that he was leaving the national oil corporation ‘to concentrate on his health’, we all know that his good health and clarity of thought (at 88) are the products of the many good battles that he fought.

“So leaving Petronas might very well accord him more time and energy to fight other battles,” said Kadir in his blog.

However, some other state delegates opined that Mukhriz’s failure to secure a supreme council seat was not a big deal at all.

Bagan Datoh division committee Zalilawati Majidah said it was never a tradition for a mentri besar (MB) to be placed in the party’s power hardcore position.

“Say, like our Perak MB Zambry (Abdul Kadir), he didn’t even stand for any post in the party election, and he was not appointed as supreme council member after that,” she said.

Asked about Dr Mahathir’s resignation, Zalilawati said she did not agree with Kadir’s comment, as she believed that the former premier would not stage his dissatisfaction in such a way.

Puteri Umno delegate: Focus on state’s affairs

Meanwhile, a Puteri Umno member, who wished to be known only as Jaz, said the party’s top leaders might assign Mukhriz to focus on Kedah’s affairs.

“I think this is the only reason, as Kedah failed to win Sungai Limau by-election... there are still many things to be done in Kedah,” she opined.

The by-election was held following the death of former Kedah MB Azizan Abdul Razak of PAS, and BN failed to break the stronghold but managed to decrease the majority of votes.