Two years after Mahathir's historic election win and three months after his shock fall it's not clear the wily nonagenarian is done yet
The second anniversary of Malaysia’s first-ever democratic transfer of power was never meant to be a somber affair. The reformist, multiracial Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition made history on May 9, 2018 when it won the support of voters weary of the long-dominant Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s endemic corruption and institutional racialism.
An alliance between elder statesman and long-time premier Mahathir Mohamad and his once bitterly estranged former protégé Anwar Ibrahim brought together unlikely bedfellows in a big umbrella coalition. Their hatchet-burying political triumph, however, was short-lived.
A political coup in February staged by both men’s deputies saw the PH coalition implode after just 22 months in power. But it’s not clear Malaysia has seen the last of Mahathir and Anwar as political and economic pressures build around the unelected, royally appointed Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who in a cruel twist is reliant on the support of BN’s scandal-plagued lynchpin party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), and its hardline Islamist ally, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), already faces a moment of political truth.
The second anniversary of Malaysia’s first-ever democratic transfer of power was never meant to be a somber affair. The reformist, multiracial Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition made history on May 9, 2018 when it won the support of voters weary of the long-dominant Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s endemic corruption and institutional racialism.
An alliance between elder statesman and long-time premier Mahathir Mohamad and his once bitterly estranged former protégé Anwar Ibrahim brought together unlikely bedfellows in a big umbrella coalition. Their hatchet-burying political triumph, however, was short-lived.
A political coup in February staged by both men’s deputies saw the PH coalition implode after just 22 months in power. But it’s not clear Malaysia has seen the last of Mahathir and Anwar as political and economic pressures build around the unelected, royally appointed Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who in a cruel twist is reliant on the support of BN’s scandal-plagued lynchpin party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), and its hardline Islamist ally, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), already faces a moment of political truth.
Read the full story at Asia Times.
Nile Bowie is a journalist and correspondent with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
