The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad announced his resignation on Monday, a shock move that could plunge the country into political crisis.
The surprise announcement comes amid speculation that 94-year-old Mahathir was attempting to form a new ruling coalition that would exclude his promised successor, Anwar Ibrahim who accused the party of plotting to form a new government with the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the former ruling party ousted in 2018.
Mahathir’s party, the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (Bersatu) announced Monday it would be dropping out of the ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan in support of the prime minister.
Mahathir’s office said in a statement “The letter has been sent to His Royal Highness the King at 1 p.m.”
It’s yet unclear if Mahathir could form another government with the support of other parties.