Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wants to overthrow the current government, just a few months after his resignation from the top job resulted in the collapse of the previous administration he was leading.
But the coalition of now-opposition parties cannot agree on who should be prime minister if they succeed in regaining power. Mahathir had initially wanted to return as prime minister, but was reportedly rejected by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar was deputy prime minister during Mahathir’s first term as leader of Malaysia. But the two men became rivals after Anwar was fired and accused of sodomy and corruption, before patching up and forming an alliance to defeat the government of the day in the 2018 elections.
Mahathir became prime minister a second time after the election, and had promised to hand the reins over to Anwar before the end of the five-year term. But the aging statesman, who turns 95 next month, unexpectedly stepped down from his post in February, paving the way for current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to take power.
The non-Argentine has attempted to challenge Muhyiddin’s claim to the top post through a motion of mistrust in parliament, arguing that the current prime minister, who is a former ally, may not have the majority support of the 222-seat chamber. But Malaysia’s parliament has so far only been called for a speech by the king.
“The new prime minister claims he has a majority, but is so concerned about his majority that he was not allowed to sit in parliament. When the parliament was opened by the king, only the king’s speech was heard, no debates were allowed,” Mahathir told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Tuesday.
“So he’s still not sure of himself, while the country needs a strong hand to deal with the many problems, including the … pandemic,” he added, referring to coronavirus disease, or Covid-19, which has been spread worldwide.
The next parliamentary session is scheduled for July, and analysts have warned that any further delay could hamper the government’s response to the challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak and its economic implications.
Racial politics
In a twist over the weekend, Mahathir stated in a video posted on his social media channels that he is supporting Shafie Apdal, a political leader from the state of Sabah, in eastern Malaysia, as the next prime minister. Neither opposition party has officially endorsed the proposal, according to local media reports.
When CNBC asked Mahathir why he is not endorsing Anwar, the opposition leader, to be the next prime minister, said: “He is not very popular with the Malays.”
“It has been shown that the support of the Malays is very important for any party to win the elections, and because it is not very popular, being the leader of a multiracial party, it needs someone who is the leader of the Malays to help him win the election, “added Mahathir.
Ethnic Malays, representing more than 60% of Malaysia’s population, are an important voting bank for political parties, some of which have long played the race card to shore up support.
For example, Mahathir’s political opponents sparked a backlash against his government’s 2018 promise to ratify a United Nations convention against racial discrimination. They claimed that the measure could dilute the privileges of indigenous peoples, which include ethnic Malays, protected by the country’s constitution. The government kept its promise again.
Economists have long warned that Malaysia’s long-term economic growth could be hampered by such policies that favor ethnic Malays, which has caused a major brain drain in the country as people from minority groups they seek better opportunities abroad.
CNBC’s Nancy Hungerford asked Mahathir her stance on race-based inequality, given the recent global focus on the issue, but the politician did not answer the question and instead spoke about the country’s coronavirus outbreak.
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