Anyway, the real truth here regarding Mukhriz is that Umno Kedah has just about had enough of its part-time Menteri Besar. They want a full-time Menteri Besar. They want a Menteri Besar who lives and works in the same town and not a Menteri Besar who lives in Kuala Lumpur and works in Alor Setar.

Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir and his supporters (or rather his father’s supporters) are trying to suggest that he is a victim of injustice and that he is being punished for speaking out, or for speaking the truth.

That is exactly the same line that Anwar Ibrahim and his supporters used when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sacked him from the government and from Umno (and then sent him to jail). The only thing is ‘the truth’ back in 1998 was regarding how Dr Mahathir wanted Anwar to give his son RM2 billion but Anwar refused and instead gave him only RM1 billion.

And that was why Dr Mahathir was very angry with him, said Anwar. This fact was confirmed by Dr Mahathir himself ten years ago in 2006 when he grumbled that Petronas paid only RM1 billion for his son’s company — thus his son ‘lost’ RM1 billion — whereas Petronas then later sold the company that they bought for more than RM1 billion and hence made a large profit (while his son made a RM1 billion ‘loss’).

Anyway, the real truth here regarding Mukhriz is that Umno Kedah has just about had enough of its part-time Menteri Besar. They want a full-time Menteri Besar. They want a Menteri Besar who lives and works in the same town and not a Menteri Besar who lives in Kuala Lumpur and works in Alor Setar.

Mukhriz does not really live in Alor Setar. His family lives in Kuala Lumpur so Mukhriz lives in Kuala Lumpur with his family as well and just ‘visits’ or ‘drops in’ to Alor Setar. And he spends just three or four days a week in Alor Setar whereas most Menteri Besar work 24-7.

Furthermore, Mukhriz ‘visits’ Alor Setar just to drop in to the office to see if anything needs signing. He does not go down to the ground or attends functions — unless it is a function to whack the Prime Minister, of course.

A politician, in particular a person such as a Menteri Besar, needs to remember names and faces, especially of your own Umno Kedah leaders. Better still if you can remember their wife’s name, etc., and ask about them. Mukhriz, however, cannot remember their names — even the names of some of those who were candidates in the previous general election — and this invariably upset quite a few people. It shows he does not really care too much about these people (and not that he has such a bad memory).

Anyway, Mukhriz is not the first Kedah Menteri Besar to get replaced. Syed Nahar Tun Syed Sheh Shahabuddin and Osman Aroff also faced the same fate. So Mukhriz is actually the third Kedah Menteri Besar to get replaced. And the same has happened in all the other states as well, and in some states more than once.

I can see that the Pakatuns are taking Mukhriz’s side in this and are condemning his removal. These are the same Pakatuns who supported the removal of Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. And when HRH the Sultan of Selangor refused to sack Khalid (because the state Constitution would not allow such a thing) they started whacking the Sultan and spread stories that the Raja Muda of Selangor has left Islam to become a Christian.

You see, to these Pakatuns, leaving Islam to become a Christian is worse than becoming a dog. So that is why they hurled those allegations against the Sultan of Selangor’s son as punishment for not sacking Khalid. So, if you want to insult a Muslim, don’t call him a dog or a pig but call him an apostate who left Islam to become a Christian — just like how the Pakatuns do.

Imagine this scenario of two Pakatuns quarrelling.

First Pakatun: Sakai!

Second Pakatun: Jakun!

First Pakatun: Anjing!

Second Pakatun: Babi!

First Pakatun: Kristian!

Second Pakatun: Ay, yang tu jangan main. Nak panggil anjing atau babi takpe. Jangan panggil Kristian. Itu dah melampau.

Yes, that was why the Pakatuns whacked the Selangor Sultan for refusing to sack Khalid by saying that the Raja Muda has become a Christian.

Anyway, it is good that Khalid is removed as the Selangor Menteri Besar, say the Pakatuns. However, Mukhriz must not be removed as the Kedah Menteri Besar, say these same Pakatuns.

Oh, by the way, these same Pakatuns blame PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang for Kedah falling to Barisan Nasional in 2013. They say that the PAS Kedah Menteri Besar was useless and that Hadi should have replaced him long before the 2013 general election. But Hadi did not. So Kedah fell back to Barisan Nasional because of that.

Well, this is exactly what Umno Kedah is saying — that if Mukhriz remains the Kedah Menteri Besar then there is a danger that Barisan Nasional might lose the state in the next general election. So should the Umno President not do what Umno Kedah says just like what the Pakatuns say Hadi should have done but did not do?

Raja Petra Kamarudin