Following the resignation as the acting prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir puts the country in a political confusion. No one really knows what the 94-year-old man has in mind.
Mahathir’s resignation has been triggering a chain of shocking reaction from his loyal followers. Several parties quit the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and the cabinet dissolves.
Since then, Mahathir has been busy meeting numerous party leaders and parliaments, proposing the establishment of a ‘unity government’ in Malaysia. However, there is no confirmation to which parties will support the proposal.
Despite everything, the current Pakatan Harapan and some parties such as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) as well as a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) have pledged their support to the man.
Considering the massive supports, it is likely that Mahathir has the upper hand to determine the next government. Even if there will be a novel opposition, the chance to defeat Mahathir will be very slim.
“Tun Mahathir’s resignation as PM and Bersatu leaving PH means that he is no longer accountable to Pakatan Harapan anymore. There is no more succession pact, nobody can force him into any succession agreement. He can start afresh all over again and chart Malaysia’s destiny,” said Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha Mohamed from Universiti Utara Malaysia.
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Mahathir Would Never Want Anwar to be the PM of Malaysia
Director of the Asia Institute Tasmania at the University of Tasmania Professor James Chin said that Mahathir’s resignation was more likely a political maneuver. The intention is to prevent Anwar Ibrahim from ascending to be PM.
Mahathir promised that Anwar would be the next PM before the 2018 election, . His tactical strategy indubitably succeeded as he managed to acquire backings and overthrow Najib.
“Prior to the election, everybody got together because everybody wanted to get rid of Najib. You can’t really hold them to what they agreed on before the election because back in 2018, it was widely understood that Najib had damaged Malaysia because of the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) corruption case,” he stated.
Mahathir and Anwar have always been a political rival since back then. He also imprisoned Anwar twice with the charge of corruption and sodomy before pardoning him in 2018.
“As long as Mahathir is in charge, he will try to hand over the prime minister position to somebody else,” he added.
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