PAS leaders coy on plan to oust Mukhriz, say Sultan will decide on new MB

PAS leaders have remained coy on their plan to replace Mukhriz Mahathir as the Kedah menteri besar, saying only that it is the state Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah's discretion to appoint a new administrative head.

Met after a meeting at the Kedah PAS headquarters, party vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said no decisions had been made yet.

"Today the (party leadership) met with Kedah PAS and Umno assemblypersons. We discussed many things (including) state assembly matters and such.

"The menteri besar candidate will be up to the sultan. Right now there is still a menteri besar. Mukhriz (photo) is still menteri besar," Samsuri was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan also curtly said: "it's up to the sultan" when asked about the change of menteri besar.

Samsuri and Takiyuddin had met with all 17 PAS and Umno state assemblypersons this morning. Also present was Kedah Umno chief Jamil Khir Baharom.

Previously, all changes in state government including in Perak, Johor, and Malacca, have bypassed the state legislature.

Instead, the state ruler or governor forces the sitting government to resign after being presented evidence that another faction has secured the majority instead.

PAS leaders have begun political manoeuvring in Kedah, including meeting with the state police chief Zainuddin Yaacob yesterday.

The movements came after Kedah PAS commissioner Ahmad Yahaya on May 7 said a change of government in Kedah was inevitable.

He claimed Mukhriz has lost the support of more than half of Bersatu assemblypersons in Kedah.

Mukhriz who is also Bersatu deputy president, has maintained the Pakatan Harapan government in Kedah even though party president Muhyiddin Yassin had taken Bersatu out of the coalition to form Perikatan Nasional with BN, PAS, GPS and other minor parties.

Mukhriz has a fragile majority in Kedah with 19 seats to the 17 seats controlled by PAS and Umno.

Harapan contributes 13 seats to Mukhriz's government comprising seven from PKR, four from Amanah and two from DAP while Bersatu has six seats

PAS is the largest party with 15 state seats, while Umno has two seats.

Muhyiddin has given the go-ahead for the replacement of Harapan governments to PN ones in Johor, Malacca and Perak but has yet to make a move in Kedah.

However, a change is increasingly likely as Mukhriz's father Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is also the Bersatu chairperson, appears to be manoeuvring against Muhyiddin.

Bersatu is presently split between Muhyiddin's faction and Mahathir's faction. - Mkini