In a press statement today, the former Umno MP said he could find “no clear reason” for Kedah Umno’s move to oust Mukhriz. He also said the situation would bring no benefit to Umno.

“If the issue is that Mukhriz is weak,” he said, “how about the situation in other states? If this move is condoned, it would set a precedent for other states to follow.”

He gave the example of his home state, Kelantan, where Umno is led by International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed.

“Datuk Mustapa Mohamed has led Kelantan Umno for a long time, but even with his position in the Federal Government, he has yet to stop BN’s losing streak in Kelantan. Is Kelantan Umno satisfied with his leadership?”

Yesterday, 14 Kedah Umno division chiefs were seen at a press conference led by the party’s deputy chairman in the state, Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah. He claimed that Kedah Umno had lost confidence in Mukhriz’s leadership and urged Prime Minister and party president Najib Abdul Razak to appoint another person to serve as Menteri Besar.

Ibrahim, who once served as Pasir Mas MP for Umno, expressed his suspicion that Kedah Umno’s move had Najib’s consent.

Since Umno’s inception, he said, no state leadership had dared to make such a drastic move without the blessing of the party president.

He said he could only conclude that the political situation in the country had deteriorated to a “horrifying” level.

With the disintegration of Pakatan Rakyat, he said, the public’s confidence should have returned to Umno. “But the opposite has happened,” he remarked.