Bersatu, of which Mahathir is chairman, said it might support the candidacy of party chairman Muhyiddin Yassin as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister.
He stated that this decision was taken at a gathering attended by 36 members of parliament. But the party only has 26 MPs, including Mahathir, so the extra 10 are believed to be members who quit this week from the People’s Justice Party (PKR), led by Mahathir’s old rival Anwar Ibrahim.
His move shattered the delicate Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition with Anwar, which just 21 months ago secured a surprise election victory over the corruption-tainted Barisan Nasional government that had ruled the country since independence.
Mahathir was then appointed interim prime minister by the king, who interviewed members of Malaysia’s 222-member parliament to evaluate who had majority support.
The country’s sovereign often plays a ceremonial role in Malaysia’s British-style system of presidency, but this time he was brought in additional closely to resolve the crisis, now in its fifth day. Members of the royal family from a number of the country’s 13 states gathered with the king on Friday for a special meeting to handle the political crisis.
On Thursday, Mahathir said a special session of parliament can be called for Monday and if lawmakers were unable to make a call by then, early polls can be called.
His statement angered politicians across the political spectrum, including the remnants of the PH coalition, which currently supports 72-year-old Anwar as prime minister.
Umno, the biggest opposition party and member of the BN coalition, has asked all lawmakers to say “no” to Mahathir’s special parliament on March 2, Secretary-General Annuar Musa said on Twitter.
He had earlier ordered his leaders to arrange for brand spanking new elections, suggesting that their lawmakers couldn’t support any candidate who was not one among their very own.
Mahathir has previously said he can be willing to develop into prime minister again if he had support, but stressed he wanted a non-partisan government that may allow him to decide on cabinet members no matter party affiliation. However, he rejected any suggestion of cooperation along with his former party Umno.
Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin has no such reservations about working with Umno “en-bloc,” Mahathir told reporters on Thursday. Muhyiddin, once also from Umno, was Malaysia’s deputy prime minister until he was fired in July 2015 for undermining Najib in the course of the 1MDB scandal.
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: the party refuses to support Mahathir
