“I was there and I was aware of the reason why I was there, so were many others who attended,” Abdul Azeez said.

“If Maznah Hamid did not agree to the purpose of yesterday’s event, she could have walked away anytime. She sat next to me,” he said to Malay Mail Online today.

The Kedah Wanita Umno chief had claimed that she did not know the purpose of the press conference, saying she was there to find out about party developments when asked to join the press conference.

Bendang Baru Umno Youth Chief, Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi also confirmed that he and several other leaders at the press conference did not know it was to call for Mukhriz’s removal.

“They told me they were there for a briefing, and that they were not informed beforehand that it was going to be a press conference calling for Mukhriz’s removal as Kedah Menteri Besar,” he said.

“From what is being said now, I think it is becoming clearer that some of what he (Ahmad Bashah) is saying is not quite accurate.”

Yesterday, Umno Kedah called on Prime Minister Najib Razak to strip Mukhriz of his positions as Menteri Besar and state Umno chief citing failure to administer the state, failure to unite party members, and lack of planning ahead of the 14th General Election.