Urging for Mukhriz to quit started last year
The political crisis in Kedah erupted since last year with some Umno leaders in the state urging Mukhriz Mahathir to step down as Kedah menteri besar.
It started when Mukhriz failed to state his support for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak following continuous attacks by his father, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, against the country’s present leadership.
On April 12 last year, Bukit Lada assemblyperson Ahmad Lebai Sudin openly urged Mukhriz’s resignation because of the latter’s failure to express support for Najib as prime minister, especially on the 1MDB issue.
The following day, Mukhriz was reported to have described as “overzealous” the action by Ahmad in urging his resignation and said that the latter should have waited for an official statement on the matter by Kedah Umno on April 24.
On April 18, 2015, the Kedah Umno liaison committee convened a special meeting chaired by Mukhriz and discussed, among others, the support for Najib, Dr Mahathir’s action in criticising Najib, as well as Ahmad’s urging for Mukhriz’s resignation as menteri besar.
After the meeting, only the Kedah Umno liaison deputy chairperson Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah issued a statement expressing support for Najib as prime minister and Mukhriz as menteri besar.
Ahmad Bashah also said Dr Mahathir should give time for Najib to administer the country and that Mukhriz should not make any statement on the issue.
Mukhriz, however, was seen as defending Dr Mahathir's criticism against Umno and Najib.
On May 4, 2015, Mukhriz defended Dr Mahathir’s action in giving his views on the country’s administration, including criticisms against Najib, saying that his father’s action was not intended to weaken Umno and the BN, but for the good of Umno and BN.
Meanwhile, when Muhyiddin Yassin was dropped as deputy prime minister on July 28, 2015, Mukhriz was among leaders in Umno who went to visit the Umno deputy president at his residence in Kuala Lumpur.
In a statement the following day, Mukhriz said he went to see Muhyiddin to thank him for what he had done for Kedah and also that it was Najib’s prerogative to reshuffle the cabinet and that all quarters should accept the changes.
On Aug 19, 2015, when rounding-up the debate on the speech by chairperson of the Kedah Council of Regency Tunku Sallehuddin Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, when opening the state assembly sitting, Mukriz refuted the claim on his unfriendly attitude to the federal government.
He said the relation between the state and federal government was good.
However, during the Umno general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur last year, Mukhriz had hosted a dinner for Kedah Umno delegates at Saloma Bistro.
The dinner was also attended by Muhyiddin and Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal, who was also dropped in the July 2015 cabinet reshuffle.
Last Jan 20, almost all Kedah Umno leaders, including the 14 party divisional leaders, assemblypersons and parliamentary members, led by Ahmad Bashah, openly expressed their no-confidence in Mukhriz as menteri besar and chairperson of the Kedah Umno liaison committee and requested the prime minister to resolve the issue.
On the same day, Mukhriz, in his speech at the Jerlun Umno division meeting, said he left it to the people of Kedah to gauge his performance as menteri besar since he held the post on May 6, 2013.
Four days later, there was a report saying that 19 of the 21 BN assemblypersons in Kedah, comprising 17 from Umno and two from MCA, had signed a declaration of non-confidence against Mukhriz.
Besides Mukhriz, the other assemblyperson who did not sign it was Aminuddin Omar of Jitra, who is also a state executive council member.
Council of Regency says it was non-partisan
On Jan 26, the Kedah Council of Regency issued a statement that it was non-partisan in the ongoing political crisis in the state and advised the parties involved to resolve the matter themselves.
Last Friday (Jan 29), Najib had an audience with Tunku Sallehuddin, who is also the Tunku Temenggong of Kedah, at Istana Darul Aman, Bukit Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, to discuss a change in the state leadership.
The almost one-hour long meeting was also attended by two other members of the council, namely the Tunku Laksamana of Kedah, Tunku Abdul Hamid Thani and the Tunku Panglima Besar of Kedah, Tunku Puteri Intan Shafinaz Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.
Najib, at a media conference held the same day after the Umno supreme council meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, said he presented several recommendations to the Kedah Council of Regency to resolve the menteri besar crisis.
Last Monday, all the BN assemblypersons in Kedah, except Mukhriz, were called for an audience with the Kedah Council of Regency at Wisma Darul Aman to get their stand on the political crisis in the state.
Yesterday, 13 of the 15 Perak assemblypersons from the opposition parties were called for an audience with the council over the same issue.
The two opposition assemblymen absent were Amiruddin Hamzah (PAS-Anak Bukit) and Dr R Krishnamoorthy (PKR-Bukit Selambau). They are said to be abroad.
Today, Mukhriz announced his resignation as Kedah menteri besar with immediate effect after being informed by the Kedah Council of Regency yesterday that he no longer had the majority support of the state legislative assembly.
Meanwhile, Kedah state secretary Bakar Din, at a special media conference called soon after Mukhriz announced his resignation as the menteri besar, said the Council of Regency had consented to the appointment of Bakar Bata assemblyperson Ahmad Bashah as the new menteri besar.
The swearing-in of the new Kedah menteri besar will be held tomorrow (Feb 4) at 10am at Istana Anak Bukit, Alor Setar, he added.
- Bernama
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