Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad will stand for the premiership on behalf of the former ruling coalition, the interim prime minister said on Saturday, less than a week after he quit and plunged the country into turmoil.
That meant that Mr. Mahathir, who is the world's oldest government leader at 94, would reunite with on-off ally and long-term rival Anwar Ibrahim (72), resuming a pact that swept the coalition to a surprise election victory in 2018.
“Pakatan Harapan states its full support towards Dr Mahathir as candidate for prime minister,” said a statement from the coalition formed by the two men whose struggle has shaped Malaysian politics for two decades.
Mr. Mahathir has thus secured the likely support he needs to return as prime minister full-time, less than a week after he resigned and was appointed as interim leader.
File photo of Anwar Ibrahim
The political futures of both Mr. Mahathir and Mr. Anwar had appeared in doubt on Friday, with Anwar competing as a candidate in his own right and Mr. Mahathir finding little support for a unity government that would have strengthened his power.
A new alliance had formed behind former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin, 72, who had the backing of the old ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
It was that party, tarnished by corruption, that Mr. Mahathir and Mr. Anwar united to drive from power in 2018 under then prime minister Najib Razak, who now faces graft charges.
Tension had persisted between Mr. Mahathir and Mr. Anwar over the prime minister's promise to one day hand power to the younger man. No date for that was ever set, however.
Neither Mr. Mahathir nor Pakatan Harapan made any mention of that promise in Saturday's statements.
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