Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has resigned, throwing the country’s government into turmoil. Mahathir has been asked by Malaysia’s king to remain in his position on an interim basis, but as of February 2020, it is unclear who will take over as Prime Minister or whether elections will be held. Mahathir has also resigned from his political party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia has itself announced its intention to leave the Pakatan Harapan, the ruling government coalition in Malaysia’s parliament.
Mahathir, who at 94 is the world’s oldest leader, has been prime minister since 2018. In 2018, Mahathir united with Anwar Ibrahim to form a coalition government that ousted the Barisan Nasional coalition, which had retained power for sixty years. Since then, tensions between Mahathir and Anwar have grown, and reports have indicated that Mahathir intends to form a new government that would exclude Anwar, who many believed would ultimately succeed Mahathir as Malaysia’s prime minister.
