The Kedah Saga

We received this comment from one of the readers regarding the recent plot by some Umno members to topple the Menteri Besar of Kedah. Perhaps, these members have found out that the Menteri Besar had received billions of ‘donation’ from ‘the middle east’, or his company had used its loan money for other purposes and had caused loss of Malaysian assets to the hands of foreigners in the bid to reduce those loans.

The comment is as below:

By any measure, merely looking at the countenance of the Kedah Umno leaders and that of Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, the latter looks more trustworthy and dependable compared to some of those seeking to remove him as the Kedah Mentri Besar.

That however is very superficial and indeed subscribing to the shallow notion of judging books by their covers.

But “open the books” and the very first chapter will reveal that some of the “mutineers” have got no moral standing to judge Mukhriz let alone call for his resignation.

For one, the likes of the chief mutineer Datuk Ahmad Bashah Md Hanifah, is part of the Umno/Barisan Nasional team that lost Kedah to PAS in the 2008 general election.

Worse is Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahadzir Khalid, though not present during the press conference calling for Mukhriz’s ouster, had explicitly stated his support for Bashah’s move, ignoring that he was the Kedah Mentri Besar when Umno/BN fell in 2008.

Apart from the duo, also present was Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Datuk Seri Mohd Jamil Khir Baharom and he had yet to convincingly clear himself up over the Yapeim foundation scandals regarding the use of public contributions in his overseas trips and purchase of a golf stimulator.

In the line up was also Datuk Seri Azeez Rahim who chairs the national Pilgrimage Fund board or Tabung Haji. He too had not been able to convince the public over last year’s move to allegedly attempt to bailout the scandalous 1MDB sovereign fund by using the savings of pilgrims to buy a piece of land at an inflated price.

To compound the issue further is that it is widely believed that the mutineers were “encouraged” by none other than embattled Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak whose position had been made untenable by Mukhriz’s father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Given the scandals hanging over Najib’s neck, from the 1MDB to the RM2.6 billion donations into his personal account and his inability to alleviate the cost of living that is seriously affecting the middle and lower income group, he had lost any moral ground to push for Muhkriz’s resignation.

Such is the nausea felt by members of the public over the move that quite a number had turned to the social media and one of the popular tagline is that “Rakyat Mahu PM Baharu Bukan MB Baharu” (The rakyat wants a new Prime Minister, Not a new Mentri Besar).

The tagline underscores the mood of the electorate, not only in Kedah but the rest of the nation.

In the first place, after Umno/BN lost Kedah in the 2008 general election, in a desperate move to win back Kedah, Najib had promised the voters in the State that if Umno/BN won, Mukhriz would be made the MB.

It is widely accepted that many voters in Kedah crossed party lines and gave their vote to Umno/BN merely because of that promise.

After all, which Kedahan is not proud that Mukhriz, the son of their favourite son, Dr Mahathir, is coming home to roost.

While Mukhriz may not be popular with some of the Kedah Umno warlords, as he is not cut from the same cloth as them, he is popular with the larger part of the populace.

The whole move smacks of hypocrisy and the general populace have not missed it.

While the mutiny is not totally unexpected given the awkward relationship between Mukhriz and Najib, the timing of it contributes much to the intrigue.

If Najib and Umno are truly bent on making changes to any state leadership due to weakness of the MB, surely Pahang, Najib’s home state, should be top of the list after the bauxite debacle.

Surely too, Najib and Umno should work towards clearing up the scandals surrounding Jamil Khir, Azeez and to a high degree Mahadzir for the degeneration of the Malaysian education system under his watch. He should be sacked.

And finally, if Najib is truly honest in wanting Umno to regain its former glory, he should sack himself.

End.

-jebatmustdie