Recalling his last moments as Kedah menteri besar, former MB Mukhriz Mahathir said he then had the power to dissolve the state assembly.

This, he said, is stated clearly in the Kedah constitution, where the menteri besar could still dissolve the assembly in any situation.

“That power laid in my hand. During the last moments when I found out that I no longer enjoyed the support of the majority, I still had the right to dissolve the assembly.

“What do you think will happen if the state was dissolved? After 60 days, an election will be held, I think we know what the outcome will be.

“Of course the government will go back from Barisan Nasional to the opposition,” he said in his speech at a dialogue session held by the Gabungan Ketua Cawangan Malaysia (GKCM) in Puchong today.

But Mukhriz said he did not do so because he loves Umno and BN and did not have the heart to "betray the party".

This is, he said, even though party leaders had done various things to humiliate him.

Political turmoil

After weeks of political turmoil in Kedah, Mukhriz agreed to relinquish his post as menteri besar last month.

He decided to quit after being informed by the Regency Council that he had lost the confidence of the majority of the state's assemblypersons.

The son of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad first came into office on May 6, 2013, after the last election, where BN managed to seize the state from PAS.

To many political observers, Mukhriz was simply a victim of the long-drawn verbal war between Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Mahathir, but Kedah Umno claimed that the MB was unable to unite the party and lacked strategies to develop the state.