Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is conducting "political cleansing" now as he feels he is in a strong enough position to do so, said former minister Zainuddin Maidin.
This is in relation to yesterday's coup attempt to oust Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir, with the Najib-aligned Kedah Umno faction led by state deputy chief Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah announcing a loss in confidence in Mukhriz's leadership.
Over 1,000 of Mukhriz's supporters responded in force by turning up at Bangunan Tunku Alor Setar, where the Kedah Umno headquarters is located, to show their solidarity with him.
Zainuddin in his latest blog posting noted that even though Mukhriz seems to have staved off the coup attempt for now, he would eventually still be ousted.
"Even though Mukhriz will try to defend his position, he will eventually fail because Najib needs to strengthen his position any way he can.
"He (Najib) feels he is in a strong enough position now to do political cleansing in the interest of himself and his loyal wife," he said.
‘People chose Mukhriz’
However, Zainuddin reminded that the people of Kedah disposed of the PAS state government and supported BN in the previous election because Mukhriz was slated to become menteri besar.
"Whatever it is, the people know what has been done by Mukhriz.
"There are no stories of corruption or abuse of power like those under the previous leaderships.
"Their (previous leaders) image is too bad to ever return to govern Kedah," Zainuddin said.
Yesterday, Ahmad Bashah who was backed by several senior leaders said they had lost confidence in Mukhriz's leadership and urged Najib to intervene and replace Mukhriz as menteri besar.
The move is seen as paving the way for Najib to strike back at former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who is Mukhriz's father.
Mahathir, who enjoys strong support in his home state of Kedah, has mounted a relentless campaign to oust Najib as prime minister after alleging several wrongdoings including the scandals surrounding the PM’s debt-ridden pet project 1MDB.
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Experts: Only state assembly, regency council can oust Mukhriz
