Kedah has become the centre of the country’s attention since a group of Umno leaders in the state emerged to plead for the removal of Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir. Some pundits see the move as just another salvo – though a remarkably aggressive one – in the continuing proxy war between Prime Minister Najib Razak and former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

A group of nearly a hundred warlords turned out for a press conference calling for the removal of Mukhriz as Menteri Besar, producing a letter signed by known Najib loyalists. The letter was particularly interesting in that it did not call for a vote of no confidence. It instead asked the Prime Minister to directly intervene in the affairs of the state of Kedah and to remove Mukhriz.

Questions of constitutionality aside, the letter clearly places Mukhriz under the jurisdiction of his father’s enemy.

Kedah Umno Deputy Chief Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah has been tipped by many as the eventual replacement for Mukhriz, and it seems like the removal of Mahathir’s son is an inevitability and not an option. However, to place Bashah in the Menteri Besar’s seat is a move that is not likely to end well for Umno.

Remember that Bashah didn’t do too well as Umno’s liaison chief in Kedah before Mukhriz took over. In the days leading to the last general election, Umno bigwigs had to go down to the ground to swing public opinion back in BN’s favour, and even then, the ruling coalition did not win by a large margin in the state. Bashah’s turn at the helm of Kedah Umno had resulted in a fractured and fragmented party, incapable of mobilising, and Mukhriz managed to turn that around when he went in, with no small thanks to the bigwigs who campaigned for him, of course.

Additionally, the Kedah warlords accused Mukhriz of being an absentee MB, saying he spent much of his time in Kuala Lumpur and that he failed to properly administer the state. Well, going by that logic, one would imagine that the Pahang MB should be first on the chopping block for his failure to handle the environmental disaster in his state. After all, “They will run away” must be the worst excuse any MB could give when explaining his failure to take action against illegal activities. If that doesn’t say someone has failed to administer a state, we don’t know what will.

Mukhriz may spend a lot of time in KL, but he has so far managed to keep his state clear of a major environmental disaster, which has to count for something these days.

Umno needs to realise that this anti-Mukhriz move has great potential to cause it to lose Kedah again and perhaps one or two other states as well. It must ask itself if it is willing to risk that. The sentiment on the ground is beginning to sour greatly, and this blatant show of unbridled power will not improve relations between the Umno leadership and the grassroots.

Umno won Kedah narrowly in GE13, and its grip on power in Perak and Terengganu is tenuous as well. Removing Mukhriz gives a chance for a resurgent opposition to drive home the message that Umno is for Najib only, and possibly retake Kedah in the next general election.

Umno cannot win this war by pleasing the warlords. It is the ground that must be won, and that ground is disappearing fast.