Recently Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir was appointed the new deputy chairman for the Kedah Umno State liaison of which Datuk Paduka Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah is the new chairman. The son of the fourth prime minister is seen as one of the new breed of politicians with a sharp mind and less unnecessary talk compared to old-fashioned politicians who are often seen as overly talkative in which most of their speeches comprise of nonsense more than anything else. With responsibility to recapture Kedah in his hands many might question whether the deputy minister of International Trade and Industry have what it takes to take on the task.

Is Mukhriz the Man for Kedah?

In terms of leadership, Mukhriz’s involvement and experience in various charitable and humanity organizations such as Peace Malaysia and ANSARA proves that he has good leadership abilities. Having his own style of politicking, many would see him as thoughtful and non-confrontational.

In the previous Umno election, he even received the most number of nominations to run for the Pemuda Chief post, despite failing during the actual contest. This shows that he is favored and supported by Umno members especially among the grassroots level. And, the way he handled the loss in a cool and ‘charming’ manner proved his ability to handle situations calmly without the need of being ‘aggressive’ as once demanded by his supporters.

His appointment as Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industries also shows that the government has trust in his leadership skills as he is seen as a good thinker and has the capacity to become a leader.

Mukhriz’s Influence in Kedah

Mukhriz is already well-known among the people of Kedah, especially in Jerlun ever since he was elected as the representative of Parliament there in March 2008. Mukhriz even said that he is optimistic about resolving the problems and are prepared to face the next general election where he most probably would contest for state seat. With that, it is highly possible that Mukhriz is the man to take helm of Kedah as the state needs a young leader like him. Plus, the failure of Kedah’s current Chief Minister on delivering his promises to the people played a major factor in swinging the support of the people back to Barisan Nasional (BN).

Mukhriz himself admitted that he is prepared to contest a state seat in Kedah in the next general election and prepared to serve in Kedah when needed. From the looks of it and the feedbacks received thus far, the outlooks are positive and his co-leadership in the Kedah Umno liaison is well-received by the other members. As co-leader for Kedah Umno liaison, he would be focusing on raising the people’s confidence towards BN and accomplishing the challenge of reclaiming the state’s administration in the next general election.

Voting Trend in Kedah

After the previous general election, it seems that the people of Kedah favor Pakatan Rakyat, mainly PKR and PAS, to BN. However, recently the trend has shown that the support is slowly shifting towards BN. According to some, it is said the Malay support for PAS has not changed, but it is the support for Pakatan that has shifted. Since PAS is part of the Pakatan, this has very much affected the overall support as people are starting to question the capabilities of the opposition coalition.

What contributed to the factor as mentioned is that the voters are tired of the unfulfilled promises made by the state government especially regarding the 25 percent tariff hikes despite them guaranteeing that rates would not be increased. Other factors that contributed to the changing trend would be the implementation of Najib's transformation program.

Apart from that, placing candidates with the right ethnic and religious background also plays an important role in altering the voting trend in Kedah. To determine whether a candidate wins or not, they must consider these criteria before fielding a candidate. And, it is not surprising that if a more popular candidate loses to a lesser-known candidate. To grab hold of the Kedah state, the potential leader must not only win hearts and minds of the people during elections but also guarantee to keep on doing that after election.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer.