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| Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Submits Resignation Letter | Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Submits Resignation Letter |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| They were the strangest of political colleagues: a nonagenarian onetime autocrat and the former protégé he had jailed for sodomy. | They were the strangest of political colleagues: a nonagenarian onetime autocrat and the former protégé he had jailed for sodomy. |
| Mahathir Mohamad, the 94-year-old prime minister of Malaysia, and his perennial presumptive heir, Anwar Ibrahim, joined forces in 2018 to oust a governing party to which both had once belonged. That party, the United Malays National Organization, known as UMNO, was at the center of the 1MDB scandal, the brazen looting of billions of dollars of Malaysia’s public funds. | Mahathir Mohamad, the 94-year-old prime minister of Malaysia, and his perennial presumptive heir, Anwar Ibrahim, joined forces in 2018 to oust a governing party to which both had once belonged. That party, the United Malays National Organization, known as UMNO, was at the center of the 1MDB scandal, the brazen looting of billions of dollars of Malaysia’s public funds. |
| But the unwieldy coalition that brought Mr. Mahathir and Mr. Anwar together crumbled on Monday, the latest twist in a caustic rivalry that goes back decades. | But the unwieldy coalition that brought Mr. Mahathir and Mr. Anwar together crumbled on Monday, the latest twist in a caustic rivalry that goes back decades. |
| After a flurry of meetings that had political analysts feverishly analyzing whose car was pulling up in which driveway, Mr. Mahathir submitted his letter of resignation as prime minister on Monday afternoon. | After a flurry of meetings that had political analysts feverishly analyzing whose car was pulling up in which driveway, Mr. Mahathir submitted his letter of resignation as prime minister on Monday afternoon. |
| The move, however, does not appear to be designed to result in Mr. Mahathir actually giving up leadership of Malaysia, a job that he has held twice. | The move, however, does not appear to be designed to result in Mr. Mahathir actually giving up leadership of Malaysia, a job that he has held twice. |
| If Malaysia’s constitutional monarch accepts the resignation letter, the two vying political blocs in the country both appear to support Mr. Mahathir continuing as prime minister — jilting Mr. Anwar. | If Malaysia’s constitutional monarch accepts the resignation letter, the two vying political blocs in the country both appear to support Mr. Mahathir continuing as prime minister — jilting Mr. Anwar. |
| “The wonderful thing for Mahathir is that it is impossible for him to lose because heads he wins, tails he wins,” said James Chin, director of the Asia Institute Tasmania at the University of Tasmania. | “The wonderful thing for Mahathir is that it is impossible for him to lose because heads he wins, tails he wins,” said James Chin, director of the Asia Institute Tasmania at the University of Tasmania. |
| It was a sleight of hand characteristic of Asia’s shrewdest veteran politician — and it left Mr. Anwar fuming, yet again, about a political elder who has repeatedly broken promises that he would eventually step aside to allow Mr. Anwar to become prime minister. | It was a sleight of hand characteristic of Asia’s shrewdest veteran politician — and it left Mr. Anwar fuming, yet again, about a political elder who has repeatedly broken promises that he would eventually step aside to allow Mr. Anwar to become prime minister. |
| The realignment also raises questions about the future of political and economic overhauls in a country where Malay nationalist politics were promoted during Mr. Mahathir’s first term in office, from 1981 to 2003, and look to be gaining ground again. | The realignment also raises questions about the future of political and economic overhauls in a country where Malay nationalist politics were promoted during Mr. Mahathir’s first term in office, from 1981 to 2003, and look to be gaining ground again. |
| “Mahathir wins, and Malaysia will lose,” Mr. Chin said. “This means that it’s back to the same Malay supremacy politics that got the country into trouble in the first place.” | “Mahathir wins, and Malaysia will lose,” Mr. Chin said. “This means that it’s back to the same Malay supremacy politics that got the country into trouble in the first place.” |
| The diverse coalition that came to power in 2018, after voters rejected Prime Minister Najib Razak and his long-powerful UMNO party, placed a group of ethnically Chinese and other minority politicians in positions of prominence for the first time. | The diverse coalition that came to power in 2018, after voters rejected Prime Minister Najib Razak and his long-powerful UMNO party, placed a group of ethnically Chinese and other minority politicians in positions of prominence for the first time. |
| Malaysia is still struggling with the fallout of billions of dollars that were pillaged from a national investment fund, 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Mr. Najib is accused of having orchestrated the looting. | Malaysia is still struggling with the fallout of billions of dollars that were pillaged from a national investment fund, 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Mr. Najib is accused of having orchestrated the looting. |
| Trials related to the 1MDB scandal are continuing and have drawn in forces as diverse as Goldman Sachs and Hollywood movie stars to Chinese officials and luxury handbag makers. | Trials related to the 1MDB scandal are continuing and have drawn in forces as diverse as Goldman Sachs and Hollywood movie stars to Chinese officials and luxury handbag makers. |
| Now 72, Mr. Anwar was once a fiery leader of a Malay nationalist youth movement and served as deputy prime minister during Mr. Mahathir’s first, 22-year tenure as prime minister. But Mr. Mahathir purged his deputy, and Mr. Anwar spent years in and out of jail on sodomy convictions. | Now 72, Mr. Anwar was once a fiery leader of a Malay nationalist youth movement and served as deputy prime minister during Mr. Mahathir’s first, 22-year tenure as prime minister. But Mr. Mahathir purged his deputy, and Mr. Anwar spent years in and out of jail on sodomy convictions. |
| The sex act is illegal in Malaysia, but rights groups said Mr. Anwar’s jailing was politically motivated. | The sex act is illegal in Malaysia, but rights groups said Mr. Anwar’s jailing was politically motivated. |
| Mr. Mahathir eventually settled on Mr. Najib as a protégé. Mr. Najib served nine years as prime minister, until the 2018 elections that returned Mr. Mahathir to power, leading a coalition that included liberal Chinese politicians and conservative Islamists. | Mr. Mahathir eventually settled on Mr. Najib as a protégé. Mr. Najib served nine years as prime minister, until the 2018 elections that returned Mr. Mahathir to power, leading a coalition that included liberal Chinese politicians and conservative Islamists. |
| On Monday morning, Mr. Anwar met with Mr. Mahathir, and hinted that all was well. | On Monday morning, Mr. Anwar met with Mr. Mahathir, and hinted that all was well. |
| “I was touched by his attitude and principle,” Mr. Anwar said, recounting that Mr. Mahathir had reaffirmed that he “would not bow to the groups that want to grab power without setting any reform agenda.” | “I was touched by his attitude and principle,” Mr. Anwar said, recounting that Mr. Mahathir had reaffirmed that he “would not bow to the groups that want to grab power without setting any reform agenda.” |
| Then a couple hours later, Mr. Mahathir submitted his resignation letter, in a maneuver analysts saw as an attempt to construct a coalition without Mr. Anwar. | Then a couple hours later, Mr. Mahathir submitted his resignation letter, in a maneuver analysts saw as an attempt to construct a coalition without Mr. Anwar. |
| The afternoon brought more twists and turns. Mr. Mahathir’s party, the Malaysian United Indigenous Party, quit the governing coalition. Then Mr. Mahathir announced that he had quit his own party, adding to the political intrigue. He is expected to meet with Malaysia’s king in the late afternoon. | |
| In neighboring Singapore, Goh Chok Tong, the former prime minister of Singapore, took to Twitter to express his astonishment with the political machinations in Malaysia. | |
| “It is a privilege for a septuagenarian to be able to enjoy nature and the simple pleasures of life, unlike nonagenarian Mahathir,” Mr. Goh wrote. |