Malaysian Prime Minister submits resignation
(Baonghean) - On February 24, the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office announced that Mr. Mahathir Mohamad had submitted his resignation as Prime Minister to the King of the country. The move was made in the context of ongoing negotiations on forming a new ruling coalition in Malaysia.
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| Mr. Mahathir Mohamad (left) and Mr. Anwar Ibrahim. Photo: Getty |
The resignation was submitted at 1 p.m. local time, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's office confirmed in a brief statement. Shortly before his resignation, Mahathir's Bersatu party also confirmed it had withdrawn from the four-party ruling Alliance of Hope, which unexpectedly ousted the government of former leader Najib Razak in 2018.
According to DW, in the ruling coalition agreement, 94-year-old leader Mahathir promised that his longtime rival Anwar Ibrahim would succeed him as prime minister within 1-2 years. However, speculation emerged over the weekend that Bersatu was trying to form a new government and sabotage Ibrahim's succession efforts. This move by Bersatu is believed to create conditions for Mr. Mahathir, the world's oldest prime minister, to continue in power for the full 5-year term.
According to the same source, Mr. Mahathir, who first held the position of prime minister from 1981 to 2003, has repeatedly refused to mention the time of the transfer of power. His delay has rekindled the decades-long feud with 72-year-old Anwar, who were the two top leaders of Malaysia during Mr. Mahathir's early tenure as prime minister but had different political views.
On February 23, Mr. Anwar criticized his coalition partners as “traitors” for invalidating their historic election victory, which toppled another coalition that had ruled Malaysia since its independence. It is known that Mr. Anwar, who was once a symbol of the opposition, also met with the Malaysian king on February 24.
According to Reuters, it is still unclear what the king's next move will be and whether Mr. Mahathir can form another government with the support of other parties, including UMNO. A source close to Bersatu said that if no group has more than 112 seats to form a majority in parliament, there could be a plan to hold new elections.
