This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 6, 2020

ALOR SETAR: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir has vowed to defend Kedah as the last state being led by a menteri besar from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) following the realignment of political parties in the country.

After the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in Johor, which saw the menteri besar from Bersatu  replaced by the state Umno chief, and a change anticipated in Perak, Kedah becomes Bersatu’s last hope of helming a state government.

According to Mukhriz, even though Bersatu had pulled out of the Pakatan coalition at the federal level, the situation is quite different in Kedah as Bersatu chose to remain with Pakatan to form the state government, Bernama reported.

“We lost Johor, and we will probably lose Perak, too. The only state left for Bersatu is Kedah Darul Aman, but we are also in a very precarious situation right now.

“For the sake of our party and all our struggles, we must fight tooth and nail to defend the state and never ever surrender it to PAS,” he said in his speech at a Bersatu event here on Wednesday night.

Also present were Bersatu Armada chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and Kubang Pasu member of parliament Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah.

In his speech, Syed Saddiq defended former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for refusing to work with Umno en bloc, Malaysiakini reported. Of the total 36 state seats in Kedah, PAS holds 15; followed by PKR (seven), Bersatu (six),  Amanah (four), while DAP and Umno have two each.