ASEAN.NEWS- Malaysia’s Umno and PAS decline Mahathir’s grand coalition

February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 Contributor 0 Comment ASEAN.NEWS- Malaysia's Umno and PAS decline Mahathir's grand coalition, MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, Malaysia, MALAYSIAN POLITICS, PAKATAN HARAPAN

Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad proposed the idea of a grand coalition to leaders of the major political parties he met.PHOTO: REUTERS / Shannon Teoh / Malaysia Bureau Chief

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s interim Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has sought to lead an ambitious grand coalition across the political divide a day after his shock resignation as premier and the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.

The Straits Times understands that Dr Mahathir proposed the idea to Malaysia’s main political leaders on Tuesday morning (Feb 25), before the King began a process of interviewing individual MPs over whether they supported the 94-year-old statesman, who has been named by most parties as their choice to lead the country.

“The idea is to step away from extreme race and religious politics and to try politics of national unity,” a source familiar with the talks told ST.

ST understands that the proposal for a unity government was mooted by close advisers to Dr Mahathir, including Tun Daim Zainuddin, a long-time right-hand man and troubleshooter for the elder statesman since his first run as prime minister in the 1980s.

Mahathir’s first day as Interim PM | THE BIG STORY | The Straits Times

The King is expected to conclude his interviews of all MPs by Wednesday evening. Dr Mahathir is also scheduled, on the same day, to meet Sabah chief minister Shafie Apdal who heads the Warisan party.

READ MORE: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysias-mahathir-proposes-to-lead-unity-government-sources

These two figures were instrumental in bringing together the so-called National Alliance which would see opposition parties such as Umno, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) backing Dr Mahathir to lead the country until the end of his term instead of handing power over to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, in accordance with PH’s agreement..