KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 ― The concerted attempt by some in Kedah Umno to unseat Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir as mentri besar may be heading for failure as the ruling party’s Barisan Nasional (BN) partners in MCA have decidedly opted out of the ouster bid.

Without MCA, Kedah Umno would not be able to secure the minimum number of votes needed to prove the first-term mentri besar does not have the mandate to lead.

In The Star’s report yesterday, it was claimed that 19 state assemblymen in Kedah ― 17 from Umno and two from MCA ― signed statutory declarations (SDs) supporting Mukhriz’s removal.

But just hours later, the two MCA representatives named in the report said they did no such thing, and pledged not to get involved in Umno’s internal troubles.

With MCA's denial, this means that the anti-Mukhriz faction has the support of only 17 state assemblymen, two votes shy of the minimum 19 needed to prove Mukhriz has lost the confidence of the majority in the Kedah assembly.

There are 36 state seats in Kedah, with BN holding 21 (19 from Umno and two from MCA) and the opposition, 15. According to The Star’s report, the only two Umno representatives who did not sign the SD were Mukhriz himself and Datuk Aminuddin Omar.

When contacted for details, Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi, head of Umno Youth’s Bendang Baru branch in Langkawi said he believes that some of the state assemblymen who signed the SD were politically pressured into doing so.

"I don't believe they signed willingly, some of them were coerced...in terms of their attitude, a lot of state assemblymen in Kedah have integrity," he told Malay Mail Online.

Akramsyah said that the next step would be for the Kedah palace to decide on the matter, and that getting SDs would not mean Mukhriz's automatic removal as MB.

"Even if they have signed, the palace has to decide, and I have been made to understand as far as the palace is concerned they are not too happy with the issue at hand," he added, saying that Kedah Umno should instead focus on winning the next general election instead of getting involved in political squabbles.

No one from Umno's anti-Mukhriz has so far publicly confirmed or denied reports of the SD.

"I've heard whispers of this, but am not privy to the detail as I am an MP not a state assemblyman.

"I hope this issue (Mukhriz's removal as Kedah MB) can be resolved in a good manner so that we can carry out our duties," Umno’s Langkawi MP Datuk Nawawi Ahmad told Malay Mail Online.

Nawawi is part of the group of Kedah Umno leaders who are pushing to oust Mukhriz as MB. The group's leader Kedah Umno deputy chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanifah has refused to respond to queries by Malay Mail Online.

According to a Bernama report from Alor Setar last night, however, Ahmad Bashah reportedly claimed that no assemblyman was forced to sign the SD.

In a news conference last Wednesday, Ahmad Bashah led a delegation comprising 14 Umno division chiefs, state and federal lawmakers who expressed loss of confidence in Mukhriz and called for his removal as mentri besar.

Among the reasons given for their discontent was Mukhriz’s purported failure to govern the state, to unite the party and his lack of strategy to face the next general elections due 2018.

Both Mukhriz and Ahmad Bashah met with Datuk Seri Najib Razak separately since the leadership tussle exploded Wednesday, but the Umno president and prime minister has yet to announce any decision on the matter.

* An earlier version of the story wrongly stated the number of Umno division chiefs, state and federal lawmakers. The error is regretted and the story has been corrected.