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A Decades-Old Power Struggle Comes to a Boil

(Bloomberg) --

It’s a power struggle that goes back decades.

In Malaysia, 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, who made a dramatic return to the premiership in 2018, is locked in a race with Anwar Ibrahim for the leadership after their tenuous alliance collapsed.

The two put aside a bitter rivalry in the 2018 election to defeat Najib Razak and oust UMNO, the group in power since Malaysian independence in 1957.

To say they are “frenemies” is putting it mildly. Mahathir fell out with Anwar in 1998, when Anwar was his deputy prime minister, over how best to tackle the Asian financial crisis. After Anwar was fired, he was jailed in the majority-Muslim nation on charges of sodomy and abusing power. He was jailed again in 2015 for a subsequent sodomy allegation.

Since winning the 2018 vote, Mahathir has prevaricated repeatedly about handing power to Anwar. Those bubbling tensions have now burst open.

Mahathir today abruptly resigned the premiership and his party post, even as that group and others continue to back him. It’s likely a gambit to get parties to fall in line behind him. But don’t count Anwar out. He’s also an astute politician with loyal followers.

There is much at stake. Does Malaysia move toward policies that treat all races equally, or still give preferential treatment to ethnic Malays? Economists have long argued the latter approach holds the country back. Mahathir also has slammed the Trump administration over its stance on trade and China (he’s a fan of telecoms giant Huawei).

The wrangling could yet end up in an election. But in the meantime, Game of Thrones is playing out in real life.

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--With assistance from Ben Sills and Ruth Pollard.

To contact the author of this story: Rosalind Mathieson in London at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Kathleen Hunter

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