5 lessons from the Kedah move

The Malaysian Insider

Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir is no longer Kedah menteri besar and all it took was two weeks for the political putsch to succeed, far quicker than it took PKR to remove Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor MB. What are the lessons that can be drawn from the Kedah move? Here are five of them:

1. The Mahathir fear factor no longer exists in Umno, even in his home state 

Those calling for Mukhriz to step down from the top job were also challenging the man who propelled Mukhriz to power. Without Dr Mahathir, Mukhriz would have had to take a circuitous route to the state job, particularly in the state where most of the leaders are home grown.

But Dr Mahathir no longer resonates with Umno, and his calls for Najib to resign have been met with indifference and the current crop of politicians in the party do not hold him in high regard.

2. The power grab in Perak has infected the whole country

The standard operating procedure (SOP) these days is to round up a few assemblymen, get them to sign a statutory declaration (SD) and then agitate for change.

In the days before the Perak constitutional crisis, you had to test the popularity of the MB on the floor of the state assembly. In effect, no one is safe in their job unless they are close to the powers that be.

3. The rebels wanted Mukhriz out because they argued that he was a leader in absentia and had alienated powerful stakeholders including the Kedah civil service

They also predicted that the state would return to the opposition without a change at the top. There may be a kernel of truth in what the rebels are saying but here’s the problem: the public is not buying that story.

Unless Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah and gang can convince the ground in the next two or three years that this regime change was the right move, he and the BN guys will also join Mukhriz on the sidelines.

4. What goes around, comes around

Just after the 2008 elections, Mukhriz was one of those who led the charge against Tun Abdullah Badawi, urging him to step down as he had lost the support of Umno.

It didn’t matter to Mukhriz that Abdullah had won the mandate to lead from the Malaysian electorate. It was all about what Umno wanted.

When the Umno leadership in Kedah rebelled against him, Mukhriz argued that he had the support of the public. But Umno stuck to the playbook, and decided otherwise again.

5. Party loyalty pays off

Mukhriz had argued he was loyal to the party notwithstanding his father’s stinging criticism of Datuk Seri Najib Razak. And now he says he quit because he didn’t have the majority and alternately, removed because he also criticised Najib over the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion donation scandals.

What it really says is that a party man must stick to the leadership no matter what. There is no room for doubt and even being impartial is not good enough. It will always be a case of “if you’re not with us, you must be against us” in Umno.

Bashah knew that score. He soldiered on even when he was not given the top state post after the 2013 electoral victory in Kedah. He was rewarded with a federal post and when the time came, he moved against Mukhriz and got the menteri besar post.

This is the politics in the Umno that Dr Mahathir founded. The top man in the party decides – from party and administrative posts to retirements and resignations.

And the top man always wins.