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Abstract Two existing moisture mode theories of the MJO, one emphasizing boundary layer moisture asymmetry (MA) and the other emphasizing column-integrated moist static energy (MSE) tendency asymmetry (TA), were validated with the diagnosis of observational data during 1979–2012. A total of 2343 MJO days are selected. While all these days show a clear phase leading of the boundary layer moisture, 20% of these days do not show a positive column-integrated MSE tendency in front of MJO convection (non-TA). A further MSE budget analysis indicates that the difference between the non-TA composite and the TA composite lies in the zonal extent of anomalously vertical overturning circulation in front of the MJO convection. A background mean precipitation modulation mechanism is proposed to explain the distinctive circulation responses. Dependent on the MJO location, an anomalous Gill response to the heating is greatly modulated by the seasonal mean and ENSO induced precipitation fields. Despite the negative MSE tendency in front of MJO convection in the non-TA group, the system continues moving eastward due to the effect of the boundary layer moistening, which promotes a convectively unstable stratification ahead of MJO convection. The analysis result suggests that the first type of moisture mode theories, the moisture asymmetry mechanism, appears more robust, particularly over the eastern Maritime Continent and western Pacific.