BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th February, 2020) The plans of 94-year-old Mahathir Mohammed to get reelected as prime minister under more favorable conditions have backfired as Malaysian King Abdullah stepped in to quash his maneuvers and his own party nominated someone else to head the government.
Mahathir triggered a political crisis in the country on Monday when he abruptly resigned and toppled the fragile ruling coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH). His stated goal was to negotiate a wider unity coalition which included powerful opposition parties, but his coalition partners deemed it a move to rob his rival and coalition partner Anwar Ibrahim of a promised premiership after Mahathir stepped down.
King Abdullah - who holds significant executive and appointment powers, unlike European monarchs - accepted the resignation but kept Mahathir in the role of interim Prime Minister.
After that, the King summoned to the palace and spoke to every one of the 222 elected officials in the country in order to gauge the political atmosphere ahead of a new government appointment.
Mahathir angered many, including his own fellows in the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (PPBM), when on Wednesday he called for a special parliament session next week to elect a head of government and said he would accept the role if he had enough support.
Parliament Speaker Mohamad Ariff Yusof on Friday questioned the constitutionality of the session and accused Mahathir of insulting the King by preempting the decision to announce the session.
The monarch's press office later confirmed that King Abdullah did not give a go-ahead for the session, after which PPBM announced that they nominate party chief Muhyiddin Yassin over founder Mahathir, putting Mahathir's machinations to bed.
Mahathir served as Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and had retired from politics before returning for the 2018 general election, setting up the uneasy BP coalition with on-again-off-again rival Anwar and his People's Justice Party. The coalition agreement stipulated that Anwar heads the government after Mahathir steps down.
The 2018 general election saw longtime ruling party United Malays National Organization lose majority for the first time in 60 years as fallout from the damaging 1MDB embezzlement scandal. The party has since played the role of opposition but still hold significant sway over Malaysia's political life.
