Umno turmoil in Kedah

ARCHIVES 2009

By MT Webmaster On Dec 2, 2009

The side-effect from this humiliation is a renewed call to disband the state Umno leadership, with party insiders saying that moves are being made to bring back former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to lead the charge against the state Pakatan Rakyat government.

Farah Azreen, Malaysian Mirror

Some interesing things are happening in Kedah and Umno is embarrassed that they had stemmed from a controversial state seat implicating the party’s assemblyman.

Kedah is facing the prospect of another by-election taking place, following a High Court ruling that the Kota Siputeh seat in the Jerlun parliamentary constituency is vacant on account that incumbent assemblyman Abu Hassan Sarif had been absent twice in a row from state legislative meetings.

In making the decision on Nov 16, judge Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin said the Election Commission had exceeded its authority to rule that the seat cannot be declared vacant.

The EC and Abu Hassan have since appealed against the court decision and the nation waits to see if there will be a by election – the 10th since the March 2008 general polls.

Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak had said that the state government was prepared to lose money to hold a by-election rather than pay wages and allowances to state assemblymen who do not do their job well, like not attending assembly meetings.

In the event of a by-election, it is understood that it is not likly that Abu Hassan will be asked to carry the Barisan Nasional banner again.

At present, the state Umno is led by party vice-president Shafie Apdal, a Sabahan whose father-in-law is a local Sungai Petani stalwart.

However, should Mahathir is dragged again into Kedah Umno politics, he would only act in an advisory capacity and not take over the helm of the state Umno.

The case of Kubang Pasu MP

The most unexpected turn of events, however, is the rumoured move to oust incumbent Kubang Pasu MP Johari Baharom, who is also the Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister.

Johari, the deputy minister in the Internal Secururity ministry when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister, carries the stigma of allegedly accepting money – some say about RM5mil – to release a detainee in 2007. He was cleared of the allegations.

The word is that the constituents want Mukhriz Mahathir to be their MP as the seat was once the domain of his father, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years of helming the country.

Mukhriz, currently the MP in neighbouring Jerlun constituency, was noted for his continuous efforts in speaking for his father in the rifts between Mahathir and Abdullah.

Following the allegations against him and despite being elected in Mahathir’s former seat, Johari is said to have distanced himself from mainstream Umno politics. Likewise his political aides have also begun to slow down on their job of promoting their boss.

Notwithstanding this, the lobbying has already started among some young aspirants to be the next Kota Siputeh assemblyman and, it is understood, deputy state Umno chief Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah wants to have a say in selecting the nominee.

Downplaying tensions

In the meantime, he is said to be making much effort to downplay the tensions in the party by saying that there are no factions in Kedah Umno and that the party is commited to bring back the state under its umbrella at the next general election.

He has also refuted suggestions that the state lineup should be revamped to provide for a more dynamic leadership and structure in Kedah.

“The state leaders in Umno have never disputed the decision by party president Najib Abdul Razak to appoint Shafie as the state liaison committe chief,” Malay tabloid Sinar Harian quoted him as saying on Wednesday.

Echoing Ahmad Bashah’s thoughts, former state Umno leader Mahdzir Khalid also told the tabloid the alleged problems in Kedah Umno were only perceptions from people outside the party.