KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has submitted his resignation to the king, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday, amid talks of forming a new coalition to govern the country.
The king can dissolve parliament on the advice of the prime minister and his assent is required for the appointment of a prime minister or senior officials.
Mahathir, 94, assumed office in May 2018 for his second stint as prime minister.
A spokesman from the prime minister’s office declined to comment, saying only that a statement will be issued soon. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to talk to the media.
The fate of Malaysia’s ruling coalition is hanging in doubt after surprise weekend talks between Mahathir’s party and other groups on forming a new government that would exclude his anointed successor Anwar Ibrahim.
The tussle between old rivals Mahathir, 94, and Anwar, 72, has shaped Malaysian politics for decades and tension has persisted, despite their alliance to win 2018 elections based on a promise that Mahathir would one day cede power to Anwar.
“I am impressed with his position…to not bow to groups that want to seize power without an agenda for change,” Anwar told reporters outside Mahathir’s residence after the two met, but without saying what they had agreed.
Anwar added, “I am satisfied with his position, that it is the principle that we need to uphold. The reform agenda must be continued.” He described the meeting as having been “very good”.
The turmoil, amid growing fears about a spreading virus, had spooked investors, driving Kuala Lumpur’s benchmark to a 10-year low, while the ringgit currency slid 0.7% to an almost six-month low, its sharpest drop in over three years.
The yield on 10-year Malaysian government bonds leaped six basis points, the steepest jump since last October.
The added political risk makes Southeast Asia’s third-biggest economy, which grew at its slowest pace in a decade in the fourth quarter, less attractive for investors, one analyst said.
“It becomes quite hard for Malaysia to bring foreign investors back,” added Jolynn Kek, head of equity at BOS Wealth Management Malaysia, pointing to more political stability and more compelling growth stories among its neighbors.
On Sunday, Anwar had accused Mahathir’s party and “traitors” in his own party of plotting to form a new government with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the former ruling party ousted in 2018 amid graft accusations.
Sources said Mahathir’s party and a faction in Anwar’s party met officials from UMNO and the Islamist party PAS in efforts to form a new coalition and possibly back Mahathir to serve out a full five-year term as prime minister.
‘More than enough’
One source said the new grouping had more than the 112 members needed for a parliamentary majority, should they stake a claim to form a government.
“In terms of numbers, the new coalition has more than enough,” the source added. Holding fresh elections was an option, said two of the sources.
All the sources sought anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss private discussions with the media.
Mahathir’s party, the opposition UMNO, the Islamist PAS and Anwar’s party faction did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mahathir’s party, UMNO and PAS met the king on Sunday, media said, though it was not immediately clear what they discussed, and whether the new proposed coalition would secure backing from the king, who plays a largely ceremonial role in Malaysia.
But it is unclear what the king’s role would be if the ruling coalition changed without a change in the prime minister.
Anwar and Mahathir joined hands ahead of the 2018 election to drive out the UMNO-dominated Barisan Nasional coalition that had ruled the Southeast Asian country for six decades in a surprise victory.
But the tension between the two in their Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition had been growing, as Mahathir resisted setting a timetable to keep his promise to Anwar.
The coalition’s political fortunes have waned, with defeats in five recent by-elections. Without changes and a halt to infighting, the coalition might prove to be a single-term government, Mahathir warned last month.
Anwar was Mahathir’s deputy when the latter was prime minister during his first stint from 1981 to 2003. But Mahathir sacked him in 1998 after they disagreed over how to handle the financial crisis.
Soon after Anwar was jailed for sodomy, charges he says were trumped up. He spent close to 10 years in jail on two sentences for sodomy, which is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
