Speculation in Kedah is rife that a new menteri besar for the state will be sworn in on Sunday.

Talk that today will be Muhkriz Mahathir’s last day as as the menteri besar, which he has held since his victory as Ayer Hitam assemblyperson in the 2013 general election (GE13), has been floating widely since yesterday.

Sunday is speculated as the day of change for the head of the state government as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is now tied up with the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) debate in Parliament and tomorrow, he is expected to table a revision of the 2016 Budget.

Friday and Saturday are the weekend holidays for Kedah.

Sources said Najib has planned to attend the swearing-in ceremony and to try and consolidate the new team.

With Najib’s presence, some 'good news' is expected to be announced for Kedah after the ceremony to instal the new menteri besar.

Whether Najib will announce Muhkriz as a federal minister, as speculated by many, remains uncertain.

However, sources also said that photographs showing Muhkriz smiling broadly beside Najib during the prime minister’s recent trip to Langkawi indicate that Mukhriz might have accepted the offer of a federal ministership.

As of now, one name - Kedah Umno deputy chief Ahmad Bashah Mohd Hanapiah - keeps popping up as the potential candidate to replace Muhkriz as menteri besar.

Ahmad Bashah ( photo ), who is also domestic trade, cooperatives and consumer affairs deputy minister, led a team of 14 Umno division leaders at a press conference last Wednesday to declare they have lost confidence in Muhkriz’s leadership.

The Kedah palace has proclaimed its non-partisan position in the crisis, which means that the sultan is expected to endorse Najib’s recommendation.

Today, the Kedah state executive council will meet from 10am to 5pm for its usual weekly meeting.

Observers suggest that Muhkriz wants to use this platform to show that he still has the support of his state executive councillors.

“So, participation at this meeting is crucial,” said a source when met at the Kedah state government headquarters yesterday.

“We also heard that the state exco members want to show Muhkriz their support,” the source added.

MCA awaiting feedback from top leaders

It has also been pointed out that Muhriz’s removal is bound to affect the morale of the Kedah state administration staff.

It is learnt that 80 percent of the staff are happy with Muhkriz as their head of administration.

Although mainstream newspaper reports have stated that Kedah Umno has secured the support of 19 state assemblypersons, through statutory declarations, to push for the replacement of Muhkriz, two MCA assemblypersons have denied signing any such document.

State executive councillor for environment, Chinese community affairs, health and unity, Dr Leong Yong Kong ( photo ) said the Kedah MCA was awaiting feedback from the top MCA leadership before making their next move.

“BN works as a team, so we will have to abide by the decision of the coalition,” Leong, the Kedah MCA chief and assemblyperson for Gurun, said.

He said replacing a menteri besar without obtaining a vote of no-confidence in the state assembly has been done in the past, during the tenure of Muhkriz's father, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Besides Leong, the other state executive councillors expected to be present at the state exco meeting this morning are state executive councillors for youth, sports, arts, culture and human development Aminuddin Omar and women, agriculture and agro-based entrepreneurship development chairperson Suraya Yaacob.