MP SPEAKS On Jan 20, Kedah Umno deputy chief Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah convened a press conference with 14 divisional heads and leaders of both the party's youth and women wings - as well as other key Umno leaders in the state - to express their lost confidence in Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir.

They then urged the party's national leadership to remove Mukhriz from his MB post.

It is fairly clear that an MB cannot be removed by a press conference. Therefore, many people are wondering of the fate and options awaiting Mukhriz.

Under normal circumstances, the appointment of an MB, just like the prime minister in our Westminster parliamentary system, is by a confidence vote in the state assembly. This is really the technical term for saying, "he receives majority support among the state assemblypersons."

As such, divisional leaders who are not assemblypersons - no matter how powerful they are -cannot technically bring down an MB. Nor can a press conference, even if it is held in the state assembly premise itself. Only in an actual sitting of the state assembly can a motion for a "no-confidence vote" be tabled.

Of course, alternatively, Mukhriz can choose to resign just as what former Selangor MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim did in 2014 - thus ending the impasse in Selangor after the so-called "Kajang move".

Nevertheless, Khalid's actions before his resignation may as well become options to Mukhriz. Although he was fired from PKR, Khalid still ran the state as an independent MB - even to the extent of sacking those excos who had challenged his leadership - while retaining the minimum four excos required by the state constitution.

Khalid finally resigned, short of an emergency state assembly sitting, after governing as an independent MB for more than two weeks.

After the political tsunami in the 2008 general election, the Terengganu palace chose Ahmad Said over incumbent MB Idris Jusoh, even though Umno central leadership had supported the latter. All Umno state assemblypersons had stood behind Idris and some even threatened to resign if he was not made MB.

Ahmad was subsequently sacked by Umno for going against party instructions not to be sworn-in. However, the Umno central committee finally relented after a meeting between then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who was the Terengganu sultan. Ahmad was later recognised as the MB of Terengganu.

The palace’s power

This demonstrated the power and influence of the palace on the matter of MB appointments. As such, Mukhriz may seek the patronage of the Kedah palace to retain his post. Incidentally, the current Kedah sultan - like the sultan of Terengganu in 2008 - is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

While the storm rose in Terengganu in 2008, another MB crisis had took place at the same time up north. Md Isa Sabu was appointed as Menteri Besar of Perlis on the claim that he commanded the confidence of the state assembly, with eight Umno representatives out of the 12 in total against incumbent Shahidan Kassim - who had been MB for 13 years by then.

As such, Isa was sworn in by the Raja of Perlis although Shahidan claimed that he had the backing of the Umno central leadership.

The Perlis and Terengganu MB crises showed that party support may not necessarily guarantee appointment to the MB post; thus, correspondingly, a lack of party support may not mean failure to secure an appointment.

However, it must be noted that these took place after the 2008 political tsunami where Umno, led by a weakened prime minister, was barely emerging from a historic defeat in the 12th general election.

Umno was too weak to prolong the internal fight, especially in face of a stronger opposition as well as widespread discontent. The opposition PAS in Terengganu, for example, was ready to support Ahmad Said if a no-confidence motion is tabled in the state assembly.

Of course, another possible scenario would be the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis, where “extraneous methods” were accepted to affect changes in the government.

The constitutional crisis in Perak provided the precedent that a dissolution of the state assembly or even an actual confidence vote, can be avoided if the head of state is sufficiently satisfied that a new leader commands enough majority in the state assembly. Hence, Kedah Umno can request an audience with the palace to seek the appointment of a new MB.

However, this is a double-edge sword.

Today in Kedah, the composition of the state assembly is a percentage of 58:42 between BN and the opposition (Pakatan Harapan and PAS). That means, if Mukhriz is ousted by Umno and thereby provoking dissatisfaction amongst his supporters, a defection of just four assemblypersons will result in a change of government.

Perhaps this may be the first ever ‘Umno Team B-Pakatan Harapan’ coalition government - the emergence of what DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang called the “Save Malaysia Grand Coalition” since Mukhriz has for the past one year been a critic of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s scandal-tainted administration.

STEVEN SIM is the MP for Bukit Mertajam.