Mukhriz Mahathir

Pre-parliamentary career

In 2004, he won election to the executive council of UMNO's youth wing, by garnering the highest number of votes of any candidate.^[11][12] He was also seen as a potential candidate for being the deputy chief of UMNO Youth, but he later withdrew his candidacy.^[13]

Mukhriz was noted for his continuous efforts in speaking for his father in the events of the rift between Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his father.^[14][15] In 2006, his father lost a bid to be elected as one of seven delegates from Kubang Pasu to UMNO's general assembly; Mukhriz was elected as one of the seven.^[16]

Federal parliamentarian (2008–2013)

In the 2008 Malaysian general election, Mukhriz contested and won the Jerlun Parliament Seat.^[17][18] Before this, he offered himself to contest in Langkawi Parliament Seat but was rejected by 85 out of 91 UMNO branches in Langkawi.^[19] However, many Langkawi leaders backed him later. The Jerlun UMNO division welcomed Mukhriz to contest in their Parliament seat and promised to give him full support in the election.^[20]

In 2009, Mukhriz contested as a candidate for the new UMNO Youth Chief after the wing's predecessor, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein released his position. He was rivalled by Khairy Jamaluddin and Khir Toyo. Nominations for the posts coincided with division meetings which took place between October and November 2008. Mukhriz was initially seen as leading in nominations compared to Khairy but eventually lost in the final vote count.

However, a controversy was sparked when Khairy was allowed to contest for the post even though he was found guilty for being involved with money politics by the UMNO Disciplinary Board,^[21] while others who were found guilty for the same offence, such as Mohd Ali Rustam who was supposed to contest for the UMNO Vice-President post, were not allowed to contest for their respective posts. However, Khairy denied the allegation, as stated in his blog.^[22]

First term as Menteri Besar Kedah (2013–2016)

In the 2013 election, Mukhriz gave up his seat in federal parliament to contest the Kedah State Assembly seat of Ayer Hitam. The move was taken with a view to becoming the Chief Minister of Kedah if the Barisan Nasional coalition could defeat the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government led by Azizan Abdul Razak. Mukhriz won Ayer Hitam (defeating the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) incumbent), Barisan Nasional reclaimed the state government, and Mukhriz was sworn in as Chief Minister on 6 May, the day after the election, in the presence of his father.^[23] Under Mukhriz's leadership, Kedah declared Thaipusam a public holiday for the first time in 2014,^[24][25] a policy that was later revoked by his successor, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.^[26]

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU) (2016–2020)

In August 2016, Mukhriz together with Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Kamarulazman Habibur Rahman, Anina Saadudin and Akhramsyah Sanusi formed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM or BERSATU).^[32]

Mukhriz was the Deputy President of BERSATU and the Chairman of Pakatan Harapan in Kedah.

Second term as Menteri Besar Kedah (2018–2020)

In the 2018 general election, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Mukhriz's father, won 18 of the 36 state assembly seats.

He took his oath of office before Kedah Sultan Tunku Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah in a ceremony held in Istana Anak Bukit.^[33]

On 31 March 2019, Mukhriz has been appointed chairperson of the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada). Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Salahuddin Ayub said Mukhriz’s appointment was consented by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong recently.^[34]

On 22 January 2020, Mukhriz said starting the new year bringing in investments from China is a good sign for the state. He shake hands with Jin Yeuhua at a signing ceremony at Wisma Darul Aman.^[35]

On 29 January 2020, Mukhriz said Kedah recorded a revenue of RM726.89 million in 2019, surpassing the target of RM710 million set by the state government last year.^[36]

On 17 May 2020, he resigned as Chief Minister of Kedah mentioning he couldn't hold on to majority amongst his state assemblymen and thus relinquished his position as Chief Minister of Kedah.^[37]