Mahathir Mohamad returns as interim Malaysian PM a day after resigning

A day after plunging the country into political turmoil, by resigning from the leadership, Malaysia' Mahathir Mohamad has returned as interim prime minister.

Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir Mohamad. Source: AP

Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad has returned to work with the new title of interim prime minister, a day after he resigned the leadership in a shock move that plunged the country into political turmoil.

Mr Mahathir, who at 94 is the world's oldest government leader, made no comment as he arrived by car at his office in Putrajaya on Tuesday.

He disbanded his entire cabinet late on Monday after resigning as prime minister and agreeing to a request from Malaysia's king to stay on until a successor is named.

Mr Mahathir's resignation broke apart an already fragile coalition with old rivals including Anwar Ibrahim, 72, that had scored a surprise election victory on an anti-corruption platform in 2018 but has since become increasingly unpopular.
Malaysia's outgoing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Malaysia's outgoing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Source: Getty Images AsiaPac
It was not immediately clear how long Mr Mahathir would remain in the interim role, when a new cabinet would be appointed or how the next government would be formed.

"For Malaysians, the trauma of uncertainty is hard to overstate," the pro-establishment New Straits Times newspaper wrote in an editorial.
The political crisis comes at a particularly bad time for the Malaysian economy, after growth fell to a decade low in the final quarter of last year.

Mr Mahathir had been scheduled to announce a stimulus package to deal with the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday.

The resignation left in doubt the pre-election promise Mr Mahathir had made to Mr Anwar that he would cede power before his five-year term ended in 2023.

It followed a sudden burst of political wrangling at the weekend when some of Mr Mahathir's allies were accused of plotting with the former ruling party to form a new government that would exclude Mr Anwar.

Mr Mahathir, who had not set a date for handing over power, had appeared irritated that Mr Anwar's backers were demanding a clear timetable.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world