Mahathir Mohamad appointed interim prime minister after resignation

Jakarta: Malaysia's King has accepted Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation as prime minister, but has made him the interim PM.

Mahathir submitted his resignation amid political chaos in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, but would continue to serve as PM until a new person was appointed under the Federal Constitution, chief secretary Mohd Zuki Ali said.

Mahathir Mohamad waves after being granted an audience with the Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur.Credit: AP

Mahathir's shock resignation came after 24 hours of high political drama and after months of speculation about the stability of the governing Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition.

It also means that Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir's agreed upon successor, may once again miss out on the chance to follow Mahathir into the prime ministership - as happened 22 years ago when the pair spectacularly fell out.

It is not yet certain that Mahathir will attempt to form a new coalition government with members of his Bersatu party, a breakaway group of 11 PKR MPs led by Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali and members of opposition parties including UMNO, who were booted out by voters at the historic May 2018 election.

It’s also possible that Mahathir will be re-installed as prime minister supported by enough of the parties in the current Pakatan Harapan coalition.

The Prime Minister is due to meet Malaysia's king at 5pm local time (8pm AEDT) and it looks increasingly likely that a majority of MPs - both from the government and the opposition - will support him remaining as prime minister.

Bersatu later confirmed it would quit the Pakatan Harapan alliance in a move which would cost the government up to 26 of the 139 seats in the 222 member parliament and place its governing majority in jeopardy.

The exit of 11 PKR MPs was confirmed soon after, while smaller parties such as Amanah also seemed to be lining up to support Mahathir to lead a new coalition government.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.Credit: James Massola

The alternative to Mahathir breaking the governing coalition and attempting to form a new grouping include the 94-year-old quitting politics entirely or going back to the polls to face voters.  Both of these options appear less likely than a newly-constituted coalition government.

In a short statement from Mahathir, who has been the dominant figure in Malaysian politics for four decades, the prime minister confirmed he had resigned but did not state what his next move would be.

The letter to the King was handed over at 1pm local time (4pm AEDT). A second statement in which Mahahtir resigned as chairman of his Bersatu party was released soon afterwards.

On Sunday, MPs from Bersatu, UMNO and the bloc of PKR rebels - as well as MPs from other minor parties - held a series of meetings in hotels and party headquarters across Kuala Lumpur.

As the day ended, a senior member of UMNO - the party Mahathir's led during his first, 22-year stint as prime minister from 1981 to 2003 - declared the Pakatan Harapan alliance dead.

The political future of Anwar Ibrahaim, the ally-turned-enemy-turned-ally of Mahathir who was on a promise he would succeed Mahathir when the pair formed an alliance to win the May 2018 election, is also on a knife edge.

On Sunday night, Anwar railed against his former allies such as Azmin - the deputy leader of Anwar's PKR party - for betraying him and forecast the government could fall as soon as Monday.

Anwar and Mahathir met at the prime minister's residence on Monday, along with deputy PM Wan Azizah Ismail (Anwar's wife) and Lim Guan Eng, the DAP boss and Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

DAP could potentially be the other big losers - along with Anwar and those in PKR who support him - if a new coalition is formed.

Anwar said the meeting with Mahathir was a "very good meeting" and that "I am touched by his attitude and stance to not bow down to a group that wants to usurp power without setting an agenda of change".

Anwar and Wan Azizah were due to meet the King at the palace mid-afternoon on Monday, amid suggestions that Wan Azizah would be appointed as an acting or interim prime minister.

But Malaysia's King will have little choice but re-appoint Mahathir as prime minister if it becomes clear that he has the support of a majority of MPs.

When or if a new coalition is formed, it will be tested on the floor of the parliament.

Alternatively, Malaysians could be headed back to the polls less than two years since the historic May 2018 election, which saw a change of government for the first time since the country's independence was achieved 61 years ago.

The Malaysian ringgit slumped to the lowest in almost six months amid the political turmoil, trading 0.8 per cent down at 4.2242 per dollar as of 3:02 pm local time.

with Reuters