Malaysian PM Mahathir submits resignation to the king: statement

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad submits resignation to the king, according to a statement.

Mahathir bin Mohamad served as the prime minister of Malaysia. He was appointed prime minister in 1981, retired in 2003, and returned to the office in 2018.

Mahathir, 94, repeatedly vowed to eventually step aside and hand power to Anwar Ibrahim, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president. 

A series of meetings involving major political parties and a rival faction of PKR led by deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali lead to an audience with Malaysia’s constitutional monarch, the Yang di-Pertuang Agong, fuelling speculation of a “backdoor” bid to form a new ruling coalition that would reunite Mahathir with the long-ruling United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO).

Mahathir, who previously served as prime minister atop an UMNO-led government from 1981-2003, now appears to have other succession plans, according to local media.