Parties versus personalities in Kedah politics

• Main Author: Mohd Sani, Mohd Azizuddin
• Other Authors: Gomez, Edmund Terence
• Format: Book Section
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019
• Subjects: JQ Political institutions Asia
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/26608/; http://doi.org/10.4324/9780429318375-12

This chapter reviews the electoral campaign in Kedah, the key parties and personalities in the state and the factors that led to its final outcome, the capture of this state by Pakatan Harapan (PH). Kedah was an important state for PH to capture as the election outcome would determine the future of its two key leaders, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his son, Mukhriz, who had been ousted as Chief Minister of this state. A PH victory in Kedah would vindicate Mukhriz who had left the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), arguing that he could not condone large-scale corruption.This study assesses the internal conflicts in UMNO that resulted in the party’s loss of Kedah. It also reviews Mahathir’s influence in his home state, as well as the impact of a serious factional dispute in the Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), where a faction had created an alliance with PH. This study reviews specifically PH’s party machinery and its ability to galvanize the support of rural Malay voters. This study analyzes if and how PAS benefited from the split within UMNO, as well as the future of the Islamic party in Kedah.