Mukhriz: Love for Umno stopped me from dissolving state assembly

The love he possessed for Umno and BN prevented Mukhriz Mahathir from dissolving the Kedah state assembly last year, instead of merely relinquishing his post as menteri besar.

Mukhriz believes that if he had decided to dissolve the assembly, BN could have lost the state in the subsequent election.

"People forget that when I stepped down as MB, I had one other choice, which was to dissolve the state assembly. I could have done that. I knew if I had done that… when I was informed that I had lost the 'support' of the assembly by just one vote.

"It was not directly suggested to me that I had to step down. It was implied that I should understand that I had lost the support and I needed to step down.

"So I did the only thing that was honourable. No one talks about this other thing I could've done, that is to dissolve the state assembly. What that would have meant would be a state election, and the thinking at that time was that BN would have lost," Mukhriz told The Malaysian Insight in an interview.

Biting the bullet

Despite the manner in which he was treated, Mukhriz, who is now Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) deputy president, said he could not bring himself to act against the interests of Umno and BN.

"It was clear that it was Najib and (his) cronies who were forcing my hand to step down. But at that time my love for Umno and BN was still very strong, I just didn’t have the heart to see them lose in a big way.

"I also figured that I would have been seen as the bad guy for stabbing Umno in its back. So, I decided to bite the bullet and see what happens," he added.

However, sentiments have since changed.

At present, Mukhriz and his father Dr Mahathir Mohamad have joined the opposition with the aim of removing Umno and BN from power.

During the initial stages, Mukhriz conceded that he had no desire to see Umno and BN lose their grip on federal power.

Umno cannot be saved

The focus, he said, was to remove Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"I had no desire at that time to see Umno and BN being ousted. The opposition said I was trying to strengthen Umno and BN by having Najib removed. I must say that during the early days, that was my intention.

"But Umno just refuses to rid itself of this corrupt leader. It then became clear to me that Umno was not a party that could be saved.

"It's not just the leadership but the culture of money and patronage and power that was (so) strong. But it has gone to a level that is so unprecedented that they could turn a blind eye to the real issues and still support a leader who was clearly a kleptocrat.

"By that time, the idea of forming a new party became a necessity," Mukhriz added. - Mkini