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Malaysia’s Succession Struggle 2019:

Economic Slowdown and Instability?

KB Teo

SYNOPSIS

Malaysian politics is engulfed in controversy and uncertainty.  The vicious succession to PM Mahathir within the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition threatens to worsen. The economy is slowing rapidly and foreign investments have fallen sharply.  Unless the succession issue is quickly resolved, instability threatens.

COMMENTARY

Malaysian politics is currently in turmoil.  In November 2019, factional infighting within the  Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) broke out. The PKR is the second largest component of the ruling multiethnic (PH (Coalition of Hope), led by PM Mahathir Mohamad, 94.  He was Malaysia’s leader from 1981 to 2002, the longest on record. It also includes the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party led by Lim Kit Siang and his son, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.  The latter has corruption charges pending against him in relation to the purchase of a bungalow in Penang. The prosecution, controlled by the Attorney General, dropped the charges against Lim.

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The PH coalition surprisingly won the May 2018 Malaysian General Elections (GE14), ousting the corrupt Barisan Nasional (BN) administration of Premier Najib Razak.  Najib is implicated in the 1MDB scandal, the largest of its kind in the world. It has debts of USD 11.73 billion. About USD 700 million was reportedly transferred to Najib’s private bank accounts.  The US Justice Department claimed that USD 4.5 billion was stolen from the 1MDB. The BN had ruled Malaysia continuously for 61 years.

In November 2019, Anwar Ibrahim, 72 (leader, PKR), was challenged by his deputy, Azmin Ali, 55.  Azmin is very ambitious. He has the political support of Mahathir. There was apparently a “promise” made by Mahathir to make way for Anwar to become Prime Minister midway through the HP’s term of office.  Reports indicate that Mahathir has since denied making such a promise. Mahathir has deliberately been coy about a power transfer dateline. Anwar has, however, publicly expressed strong confidence that he will become Malaysia’s next leader by June 2020.

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There are, however, clear benefits for Malaysia if Mahathir sets a timeline for the succession.  One, it will stop the political uncertainties in Malaysia, which risk descending into an all-out war.  Two, it will enable Mahathir to focus on fixing the slowing economy.  

In 2019, the economy is expected to grow by only 4.7%.  Manufacturing is slowing rather quickly. The Purchasing Managers’ Index has stayed below 50, signalling contraction.  Since early 2019, the RAM Business Confidence Index has been sluggish. The high cost of living contributed to PH’s defeat in the Pulau Piai by-election.

There are media reports suggesting that Mahathir may have political ambitions for his 54-year old son, Mukhriz.  Najib has also accused Mahathir of seeking to make Muhkriz the next prime minister of Malaysia. The latter’s brother, Mokhanzani, according to Forbes magazine, is reportedly one of Malaysia’s top ten  billionaires. He is among the top ten richest tycoons in Malaysia. Mukhriz is the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the northern Kedah state.   But Mahathir claimed that his sons are rich because of their own efforts.

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The PKR factional infighting already has negative results for the PH coalition.  In June 2019, it lost decisively in the Tanjung Piai by-election back to UMNO. UMNO deputy president Mohamad Hasan voiced concern that PKR leaders continue to quarrel over the prime minister’s post.  

Mohamad Hasan said it was unfortunate that there had been no discussions on urgent economic issues including the ringgit’s drop in value and rising debt.  Billions of ringgit in foreign investment has left Malaysia’s Stock Exchange. Its performance in 2019 is among the worst in the world. The amount of foreign investment which left Malaysia in 2019 was reportedly more than RM10 billion.  The Malaysian economy is evidently slowing.

Anti-corruption promises lay at the heart of Pakatan Harapan’s 2018 election win.  A priority is its pledge to get to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal. As much as USD 4.5 billion went missing.  Jho Low, a financier accused of orchestrating the theft, remains at large. In October 2018 the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Jho had agreed to forfeit nearly USD 1 billion in assets allegedly bought with the fund’s money. Instead, Malaysia’s attention has shifted to former Prime Minister Najib Rasak, who has pleaded not guilty to 42 criminal charges charges ranging from money laundering to abuse of power. 

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The new Mahathir administration faces many political challenges. There are three key issues that the administration must address before the next General Election in 2023. These are the Malay Agenda/Bumiputra Policy; political Islam; and the timeline for transition of power from Mahathir to Anwar Ibrahim.  Mahathir needs to clearly signal that Anwar will be his successor. Only then will the economic slowdown slacken and the political uncertainty subside. Malaysia is clearly distracted by its own domestic political intrigues, to the detriment of economic growth.

On 23 February 2020, Malaysia’s would-be leader, Anwar Ibrahim, accused 94-year-old Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s party and “traitors” in his own camp of plotting a wholesale change in the ruling coalition that could ultimately deny him the premiership.

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Meanwhile, Mahathir has said in recent months that he needs more time for a planned transition, for which he has never set a date.  Forming a new coalition could allow Mahathir to serve out a full term instead of handing over to Anwar as promised. One source with knowledge of the matter said Mahathir had been angry that he came under pressure from pro-Anwar ministers to set a clear timetable for a handover at a meeting of the coalition.

Some Malaysians expressed their anger on social media at the speculation about a new alliance, saying the coalition they voted for to bring in reforms now threatened to betray them by partnering with the political parties they voted out.

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Anwar served as deputy prime minister and finance minister during Mahathir’s first 22-year stint in office under UNMO, but was sacked in 1998 after falling out over how to defend the economy against the Asian financial crisis. Anwar was jailed twice on sodomy charges that he said were politically motivated.  He was released on a royal pardon after the 2018 election. He is a member of parliament but does not hold a ministerial post. His wife is the country’s deputy prime minister.

Feb 24, 2020 ― Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has resigned as prime minister today, after two days of intense speculation that he would lead his political party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) to exit the ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan and form a new government with new coalition partners.

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PKR has also announced that it had sacked its deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin, while 11 MPs including the duo separately announced that they had quit PKR and PH to form an independent bloc in Parliament.

Azmin was previously speculated to be planning to lead his faction to join forces with Dr Mahathir’s PPBM and several other parties including Umno and PAS to form a new coalition government.  For the PH coalition to hold on to power or for any new coalition to form a new government, they will need to have at least 112 MPs or a simple majority of the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat to be on their side.

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PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was previously known to be the PM-in-waiting based on a promise and agreement within PH’s leadership for him to take on the baton after Dr Mahathir, but a source has told Malay Mail that Anwar’s wife and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail would be the interim prime minister.

Malaysian politics is in turmoil.  The King (Agong) appointed Mahathir to be the interim PM.

1 March 2020. Malaysia’s Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as prime minister by the king, after a week of political chaos sparked by the resignation of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad.  The 72-year-old Muhyiddin, interior minister in the government that collapsed last Monday, becomes the Southeast Asian nation’s eighth premier.

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Mahathir, who was the world’s oldest leader, initially quit as premier but then sought to return.  He lost in a power struggle, however, to little-known Muhyiddin Yassin, who heads a coalition dominated by the multi-ethnic country’s Muslim majority and has faced criticism for controversial remarks about race, reported Yahoo news.

After PM Muhyiddin’s new Cabinet was announced, foreign funds reduced their net exposure in Malaysian equities by 1.19 billion ringgit (US$284 million), according to MIDF Research.  Bursa Malaysia’s oil and gas-related stocks also took a tumble today after the price of crude oil dropped 30 per cent to US$30 a barrel.

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KB Teo is a former diplomat with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  He attended the UN General Assembly as part of the MFA delegation.

Debate on Origins of COVID-19:

Impact and Implications

SYNOPSIS

Which country started the COVID-19 pandemic?  Casualties are rising around the world. China and the US have accused each other.  What is the truth?  

COMMENTARY

David Stillwell, the top US diplomat for East Asia, delivered a very “stern representation” to China’s ambassador Cui Tiankai, a State Department official said, adding that Beijing’s envoy was “very defensive.”

The State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said China was seeking to deflect criticism of its role in “starting a global pandemic and not telling the world.”

“Spreading conspiracy theories is dangerous and ridiculous. We wanted to put the government on notice. We won’t tolerate it for the good of the Chinese people and the world,”, reported Reuters on 14/3/20.

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Despite the signs of tension, US President Donald Trump praised Beijing last week for its “data sharing”.

Asked by a reporter during a White House news conference about “odd narratives” being offered by some Chinese officials, Trump appeared to brush off any concern, saying he had read one article on the subject, but that he did not think it was representative of his discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump, who in a national address this week called the outbreak a “foreign virus” that started in China, added: “They know where it came from, we all know where it came from.”

Tensions escalated after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian took to Twitter on Thursday.

“When did patient zero begin in the US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! The US owes us an explanation!” Zhao tweeted in English.

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With the two year trade war between the economic superpowers still being sorted out, the Chinese and US governments have entered into a tit-for-tat exchange of blame for the origins of the Covid-19 virus this week.

Conspiracy theories have been fired back and forth between officials in the two countries. Washington has described the coronavirus outbreak as the “Wuhan Virus”. Even the US President has called it the “foreign virus”… “that started in China” during a nationwide address, reported Thaiger.

The diplomatic media spat comes as Chinese officials try to deflect blame for the origins of the contagion and reframe the narrative with China taking “decisive steps” to buy the world time by placing large sections of its population under quarantine. (This step was unprecedented at the time and never before attempted on a city-wide scale).

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With cases swiftly falling in China (only 20 new cases announced in the past 24 hours whilst there were 3,497 new cases in Italy and 1,365 in Iran), Beijing is trying to re-imagine the widely held assessment that Wuhan, in Hubei province, is the birthplace of the outbreak.

Without any verifiable evidence, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian took to Twitter on Thursday claiming “it might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan”.

The episode is the latest in an increasing war of words between Washington and Beijing, whose already strained ties over issues including trade, intellectual property rights and press freedom have further been tested by the virus outbreak.

The coronavirus, which emerged in China in December, has spread around the world, pummelling financial markets, halting industry, bringing some flights to a standstill, closing schools and forcing the postponement of sports events and concerts.

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Zhao’s comments came days after Robert O’Brien, the US national security adviser, said China had reacted slowly to the coronavirus, probably costing the world two months when it could have been preparing.

Wuhan was ground zero for the outbreak, which the World Health Organisation this week labelled a pandemic. The virus has infected more than 127,000 people worldwide, including nearly 81,000 in mainland China, and killed more than 5000 people.

Beijing was criticised for initially attempting to censor some Chinese doctors who sounded an alarm over the virus. Since January, it has imposed severe containment measures, effectively locking down Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province, home to 60 million people.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has complained that the US response had been hindered by what he called imperfect data from Beijing.

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He and several other US politicians have angered Beijing by referring to the “Wuhan virus.” In a national address on Wednesday, President Donald Trump called the outbreak a “foreign virus” that started in China.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology is a real place (that’s evidence enough for some), and the precise origin (as in date and location) of the novel coronavirus remains a mystery. Researchers continue to isolate the true origins but virologists who’ve parsed the genome, and epidemiologists who study coronaviruses, say they have enough evidence to emphatically prove that Covid-19 is brand new and came from nature, not the test tube of a rogue Chinese scientist.

Scientists have now conclusively cited the genome analyses from multiple countries, affirmed in The Lancet and other peer-review documents, that Covid-19 originated in wildlife.

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Chinese authorities, after a slow start, eventually identified Wuhan and the rest of Hubei province as a threat so they placed some 50 million+ people under strict quarantine in an unprecedented effort to contain the epidemic.

But, probably in a face-saving action by the Chinese government to deflect accusations from their citizens on social media, began sowing doubts in late February. This is the time Zhong Nanshan, a respected consultant with the Chinese National Health Commission, told reporters “the epidemic first appeared in China, but didn’t necessarily originate in China.”

International scientists, however, have long suspected, and since provided evidence, that the virus jumped from an animal at the Wuhan market to a human before spreading globally. The prime suspects are either civet cats or bats.

The World Health Organisation has also stated that, while the exact pathway between its animal source and humans is still unclear, Covid-19 was “unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019”.

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Gerald Keusch, a professor of medicine and international health and associate director of Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, told Vox.com this week…

“Conspiracy theories about man-made viruses are not new. We saw this with HIV… the rumour that the US made it and introduced it into Africa. But they are really dangerous kinds of things to get spread around.”

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KB Teo is a former diplomat with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  He attended the UN General Assembly as part of the MFA delegation.

Singapore-Australia Ties 2020:

Trends and Implications

SYNOPSIS

SINGAPORE and Australia have growing and extensive economic, political, and military ties. Their Prime Ministers meet annually.  This is crucial in the face of increasing threats and challenges facing the world.

COMMENTARY

SINGAPORE and Australia on 23 March 2020 signed 10 agreements to advance bilateral cooperation in new areas, including data innovation and the digital economy.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in a video call for the fifth annual Singapore-Australia leaders’ meeting, after both leaders earlier agreed to meet virtually instead of in person, reported the Straits Times.

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Said PM Lee: “This year was my turn to visit Canberra, but unfortunately we had to put it off because of Covid-19, but I’m glad that the pandemic has not stopped us from meeting, (as) our officials have found a creative solution and we’re holding this video conference instead.”

The virtual meeting shows that in this digital age, government business can continue despite the pandemic, he said, adding that it also showed both countries’ commitment to advancing bilateral ties even as they deal with the coronavirus.

Mr Morrison agreed, and commended Singapore’s response to the Covid-19 crisis, which he said Australia had looked at very carefully as it planned its own response.

Mr Morrison added he was pleased that “even in the midst of these very difficult circumstances, the ongoing important work around our digital economy agreement” and other important areas of cooperation like defence could continue.

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Singapore and Australia signed an agreement that upgraded a memorandum of understanding on military training area development to a treaty.

The agreement will see the expansion of the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) and a new Greenvale Training Area (GVTA).

Slated to be completed by 2024, the SWBTA expansion will see the training area for the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) largest annual overseas training, Exercise Wallaby, grow significantly in size to allow for longer, more mechanised and integrated training across the SAF’s three services.

Together, the SWBTA and GVTA will provide a military training area 10 times the size of Singapore.

Other agreements inked include one on digital economy cooperation and another on scientific cooperation on research of the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease.

The two countries will also collaborate closely on cyber security, data innovation and the mutual recognition of digital identities.

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Singapore and Australia signed an agreement that upgraded a memorandum of understanding on military training area development to a treaty.

The agreement will see the expansion of the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) and a new Greenvale Training Area (GVTA).

In May 2016, Singapore and Australia announced a $1.7 billion military cooperation deal, part of a broader strategic partnership between the two countries. In an email interview, Euan Graham, director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute and author of “The Lion and the Kangaroo: Australia’s Strategic Partnership With Singapore,” discussed Australia’s defense and security relationship with Singapore, reported the World Politics Review.

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Slated to be completed by 2024, the SWBTA expansion will see the training area for the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) largest annual overseas training, Exercise Wallaby, grow significantly in size to allow for longer, more mechanised and integrated training across the SAF’s three services.

Together, the SWBTA and GVTA will provide a military training area 10 times the size of Singapore.

Other agreements inked include several on digital economy cooperation, such as on artificial intelligence development and commercialisation.

The two countries will also collaborate closely on cyber security, data innovation and the mutual recognition of digital identities.

Australia’s defense relationship with Singapore is longstanding, deep and mutual, although for the most part it has been relatively low-profile. That changed in early May 2016, when Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a deal to significantly expand defense training for the Singapore Armed Forces in Australia as part of a “massive upgrade” for the relationship.

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Australia played a role in building the capacity of Singapore’s armed forces, especially its air force, from the ground up in the years after independence in 1965. Both countries have been members of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) since 1971, together with Malaysia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Although the FPDA is generally considered a low-key part of Australia’s defense engagement, Australian officials have nonetheless maintained a tacit understanding that Canberra’s participation signifies Australia’s role as a “quasi-guarantor” of security for Singapore and Malaysia. Hence the regular participation of Australian vessels, aircraft and personnel in FPDA defense exercises, and Canberra’s continuing support of an integrated air-defense system for the Malay Peninsula.

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The new agreement spans a 25-year period. It will see the number of Singaporean army personnel coming to Australia each year for military training more than double, from around 6,000 to 14,000. They will also be able to stay for up to 18 weeks per year, up from six weeks previously. To accommodate this enhanced presence, Singapore has agreed to fully fund expanded training facilities in Queensland to the tune of $1.7 billion. It has been reported that air force training will also be expanded. Details of this have yet to be fixed, but it is understood that Singapore’s pilots will be able to train in Australia for up to six months per year.

Singapore’s core interest lies in enhancing its access to military training and exercise areas in Australia. The impending increase in its air force’s presence in Australia is on such a scale that it suggests a consolidation of some of Singapore’s other, extensive overseas defense training arrangements.

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From Canberra’s perspective, the strategic value of the defense relationship lies also in maximizing Singapore’s locational advantage as a forward operating base in Southeast Asia, around which Canberra’s defense engagement can be leveraged bilaterally and regionally. Singapore’s defense capabilities are second to none in the neighborhood. To develop further, the defense relationship needs to evolve from a training “real-estate” model more toward a reciprocal interoperability model.

Capabilities aside, the most important attributes to this partnership are nonmaterial: a shared mindset and a willingness to commit for the long-term. As fellow “odd men out” in their region, shared interests have over many years compelled the two countries to work closely together, despite their disparity in size, location and their political and cultural differences.

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There are also obvious strategic symmetries in both countries’ close defense relations with the United States. That said, even in its enhanced form, the arrangement is something less than a military alliance, given Singapore’s longstanding preferences to preserve its strategic flexibility.

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KB Teo is a former diplomat with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  He attended the UN General Assembly as part of the MFA delegation.

Malaysia’s Succession Struggle 2019:

Economic Slowdown and Instability?

KB Teo

SYNOPSIS

Malaysian politics is engulfed in controversy and uncertainty.  The vicious succession to PM Mahathir within the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition threatens to worsen. The economy is slowing rapidly and foreign investments have fallen sharply.  Unless the succession issue is quickly resolved, instability threatens.

COMMENTARY

Malaysian politics is currently in turmoil.  In November 2019, factional infighting within the  Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) broke out. The PKR is the second largest component of the ruling multiethnic (PH (Coalition of Hope), led by PM Mahathir Mohamad, 94.  He was Malaysia’s leader from 1981 to 2002, the longest on record. It also includes the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party led by Lim Kit Siang and his son, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.  The latter has corruption charges pending against him in relation to the purchase of a bungalow in Penang. The prosecution, controlled by the Attorney General, dropped the charges against Lim.

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The PH coalition surprisingly won the May 2018 Malaysian General Elections (GE14), ousting the corrupt Barisan Nasional (BN) administration of Premier Najib Razak.  Najib is implicated in the 1MDB scandal, the largest of its kind in the world. It has debts of USD 11.73 billion. About USD 700 million was reportedly transferred to Najib’s private bank accounts.  The US Justice Department claimed that USD 4.5 billion was stolen from the 1MDB. The BN had ruled Malaysia continuously for 61 years.

In November 2019, Anwar Ibrahim, 72 (leader, PKR), was challenged by his deputy, Azmin Ali, 55.  Azmin is very ambitious. He has the political support of Mahathir. There was apparently a “promise” made by Mahathir to make way for Anwar to become Prime Minister midway through the HP’s term of office.  Reports indicate that Mahathir has since denied making such a promise. Mahathir has deliberately been coy about a power transfer dateline. Anwar has, however, publicly expressed strong confidence that he will become Malaysia’s next leader by June 2020.

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There are, however, clear benefits for Malaysia if Mahathir sets a timeline for the succession.  One, it will stop the political uncertainties in Malaysia, which risk descending into an all-out war.  Two, it will enable Mahathir to focus on fixing the slowing economy.  

In 2019, the economy is expected to grow by only 4.7%.  Manufacturing is slowing rather quickly. The Purchasing Managers’ Index has stayed below 50, signalling contraction.  Since early 2019, the RAM Business Confidence Index has been sluggish. The high cost of living contributed to PH’s defeat in the Pulau Piai by-election.

There are media reports suggesting that Mahathir may have political ambitions for his 54-year old son, Mukhriz.  Najib has also accused Mahathir of seeking to make Muhkriz the next prime minister of Malaysia. The latter’s brother, Mokhanzani, according to Forbes magazine, is reportedly one of Malaysia’s top ten  billionaires. He is among the top ten richest tycoons in Malaysia. Mukhriz is the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the northern Kedah state.   But Mahathir claimed that his sons are rich because of their own efforts.

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The PKR factional infighting already has negative results for the PH coalition.  In June 2019, it lost decisively in the Tanjung Piai by-election back to UMNO. UMNO deputy president Mohamad Hasan voiced concern that PKR leaders continue to quarrel over the prime minister’s post.  

Mohamad Hasan said it was unfortunate that there had been no discussions on urgent economic issues including the ringgit’s drop in value and rising debt.  Billions of ringgit in foreign investment has left Malaysia’s Stock Exchange. Its performance in 2019 is among the worst in the world. The amount of foreign investment which left Malaysia in 2019 was reportedly more than RM10 billion.  The Malaysian economy is evidently slowing.

Anti-corruption promises lay at the heart of Pakatan Harapan’s 2018 election win.  A priority is its pledge to get to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal. As much as USD 4.5 billion went missing.  Jho Low, a financier accused of orchestrating the theft, remains at large. In October 2018 the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Jho had agreed to forfeit nearly USD 1 billion in assets allegedly bought with the fund’s money. Instead, Malaysia’s attention has shifted to former Prime Minister Najib Rasak, who has pleaded not guilty to 42 criminal charges charges ranging from money laundering to abuse of power. 

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The new Mahathir administration faces many political challenges. There are three key issues that the administration must address before the next General Election in 2023. These are the Malay Agenda/Bumiputra Policy; political Islam; and the timeline for transition of power from Mahathir to Anwar Ibrahim.  Mahathir needs to clearly signal that Anwar will be his successor. Only then will the economic slowdown slacken and the political uncertainty subside. Malaysia is clearly distracted by its own domestic political intrigues, to the detriment of economic growth.

On 23 February 2020, Malaysia’s would-be leader, Anwar Ibrahim, accused 94-year-old Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s party and “traitors” in his own camp of plotting a wholesale change in the ruling coalition that could ultimately deny him the premiership.

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Meanwhile, Mahathir has said in recent months that he needs more time for a planned transition, for which he has never set a date.  Forming a new coalition could allow Mahathir to serve out a full term instead of handing over to Anwar as promised. One source with knowledge of the matter said Mahathir had been angry that he came under pressure from pro-Anwar ministers to set a clear timetable for a handover at a meeting of the coalition.

Some Malaysians expressed their anger on social media at the speculation about a new alliance, saying the coalition they voted for to bring in reforms now threatened to betray them by partnering with the political parties they voted out.

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Anwar served as deputy prime minister and finance minister during Mahathir’s first 22-year stint in office under UNMO, but was sacked in 1998 after falling out over how to defend the economy against the Asian financial crisis. Anwar was jailed twice on sodomy charges that he said were politically motivated.  He was released on a royal pardon after the 2018 election. He is a member of parliament but does not hold a ministerial post. His wife is the country’s deputy prime minister.

Feb 24, 2020 ― Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has resigned as prime minister today, after two days of intense speculation that he would lead his political party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) to exit the ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan and form a new government with new coalition partners.

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PKR has also announced that it had sacked its deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin, while 11 MPs including the duo separately announced that they had quit PKR and PH to form an independent bloc in Parliament.

Azmin was previously speculated to be planning to lead his faction to join forces with Dr Mahathir’s PPBM and several other parties including Umno and PAS to form a new coalition government.  For the PH coalition to hold on to power or for any new coalition to form a new government, they will need to have at least 112 MPs or a simple majority of the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat to be on their side.

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PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was previously known to be the PM-in-waiting based on a promise and agreement within PH’s leadership for him to take on the baton after Dr Mahathir, but a source has told Malay Mail that Anwar’s wife and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail would be the interim prime minister.

Malaysian politics is in turmoil.  The King (Agong) appointed Mahathir to be the interim PM.

1 March 2020. Malaysia’s Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as prime minister by the king, after a week of political chaos sparked by the resignation of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad.  The 72-year-old Muhyiddin, interior minister in the government that collapsed last Monday, becomes the Southeast Asian nation’s eighth premier.

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Mahathir, who was the world’s oldest leader, initially quit as premier but then sought to return.  He lost in a power struggle, however, to little-known Muhyiddin Yassin, who heads a coalition dominated by the multi-ethnic country’s Muslim majority and has faced criticism for controversial remarks about race, reported Yahoo news.

After PM Muhyiddin’s new Cabinet was announced, foreign funds reduced their net exposure in Malaysian equities by 1.19 billion ringgit (US$284 million), according to MIDF Research.  Bursa Malaysia’s oil and gas-related stocks also took a tumble today after the price of crude oil dropped 30 per cent to US$30 a barrel.

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KB Teo is a former diplomat with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  He attended the UN General Assembly as part of the MFA delegation.