Chaotic Kedah

SeaDemon Says

Two years ago when I attended a meeting with an armed forces veterans association in Kedah I was briefed on some of the problems the association was facing and they asked me if there was anyone above the level of the State Secretary that I would know. I said I don’t have a direct access to the Menteri Besar but I know a few people who actually do; to which they replied:

“Tak payahlah jumpa Mukhriz, tuan. Dia bukan buat kerja pun! Asyik dok hantaq pegawai dia ja!” (There’s no point in meeting with Mukhriz, sir. He doesn’t work! He only sends his officers (to do his errands)!

I was taken by surprise. I follow Mukhriz’s Instagram account and in the early days as the Menteri Besar he would wear a jubah and attend prayer sessions in the kampungs. Even when the Prime Minister decided that Mukhriz was to become the Menteri Besar in the days leading up to the last general elections I thought it was the most correct decision although many quarters in Kedah was upset.

That all stopped just before the end of Ramadhan last year. After Aidil Fitri his account was filled with selfies with Siti Nurhaliza, Ramli Sarip, Jamal Abdillah and even Upin et Ipin! Nothing wrong with those but I happen to revisit his Instagram timeline to see if there’s any difference then and now.

Is the current chaos about Najib versus Mahathir? I doubt that very much. But the complaint about Mukhriz not meeting the rakyat, associations or evenKetua Bahagians did not stop with the complaint I received two years ago. Another group of veterans from Kedah whom I met at a reunion of Air Force veterans in Kuantan early last year also revealed the same complaints. Therefore it isn’t just the UMNO politicians who are complaining about him but also the normal Joe on the street!

Now whether or not certain UMNO quarters harbour the ambition of becoming the next Menteri Besar or not is a small matter compared to the grouses therakyat have against Mukhriz’s administration. The complaints range from the only development Mukhriz has brought about in Kedah is to build a mall ona piece of land donated by the First Mufti of Kedah for a mosque to Mukhriz doesn’t run this state, his two officers do. UMNO Kedah insiders apparently know who these two officers are!

While the supporters of Mukhriz quicky claimed that the anti-Mukhriz movement could not gather the numbers when meeting the UMNO President yesterday, the report I received show otherwise:

  
To remove Mukhriz it would have to be done in accordance with the Kedah State Constitution and that is through the Sultan or Council of Regents, or through a vote in the state legislative council. While majority of the UMNO ADUNs are against Mukhriz, five were absent from the meeting. Assuming the five are for him, the group opposed to him would need the support of both MCA and PAS. Both PKR and the sole rep from Amanah would definitely have to take the cue from their masters in the DAP.

It is very important for those in UMNO opposed to Mukhriz to get a majority support because this can be quite different to the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis.

  
On a side note, Mahathir once changed the Kedah Menteri Besar despite getting much opposition from the Kedah UMNO but of course “My Way” was Mahathir’s way, and he believes it still is. A lesson for Mukhriz and others to learn, and Mukhriz has recently agreed with is that you can only remove a leader through legal means, and this will be a lesson he will long remember.

  
The irony of it all is Muhyiddin’s latest press statement in support of Mukhriz . This coming from a coward who backstabs his boss in order to be on top is surely the joke of the year this far.

This Brutus-wannabe ought to keep his dirty mouth shut and continue reading his two favourite tabloids for facts and continue living in a dream world.