A handshake that shook MalaysiaFROM a cavernous office in a posh part of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, Mahathir Mohamad is sowing dissent. “This government is really destroying the country,” complains the cantankerous former prime minister, now 91 and still sporting his trademark safari suit. His 22 years in power came courtesy of UMNO, the party that has led Malaysia’s ruling coalitions since independence in the 1950s. But Dr Mahathir has lost all faith in UMNO: it is time, he says, to overthrow it.
On September 8th Dr Mahathir became the founding chairman of a new political party which aims to do just that. The registration of Bersatu, which means “United” in Malay, is the latest step in a long campaign that Dr Mahathir has been waging against Najib Razak, Malaysia’s scandal-hit prime minister. Even more strikingly, Dr Mahathir is seeking help from Anwar Ibrahim, his former deputy and now Malaysia’s opposition leader, with whom he fell out in dramatic fashion in 1998. The two men met for the first time since then earlier this month.
Dr Mahathir resigned Malaysia’s premiership in 2003, but...Continue reading
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