Muhyiddin Yassin’s surprise victory not only sidelines Mahathir, who had been the world’s oldest prime minister at 94, but also dashes the hopes of Anwar Ibrahim of becoming leader any time soon. Mahathir and Anwar’s “Pact of Hope” alliance in 2018 stormed to a historic victory that broke the six-decade stranglehold on power of a corruption-riddled coalition, but it was riven by infighting over who should succeed Mahathir. After the government fell, Mahathir was appointed prime minister and he and Anwar initially launched rival bids for power. However, as Muhyiddin’s bid quickly gained support and it became clear that he could get into power with UMNO, Mahathir and Anwar did a volte-face and joined forces again yesterday. The remaining parties from the “Pact of Hope” alliance threw their support behind Mahathir to become prime minister, and there had been hopes he could stop Muhyiddin — but it was too little, too late.

Source: Taipei Times February 29, 2020 15:56 UTC