Anwar’s bid for power fails to convince king in Malaysia

Bloomberg

Anwar Ibrahim’s latest push to finally take power in Malaysia appears to be stalled.
The long-time opposition leader claimed on Tuesday that he showed the king evidence of a “convincing majority” of more than 120 lawmakers in the 222-member in parliament. He called on PM Muhyiddin Yassin to resign and said the monarch would now determine whether the opposition leader has enough support from lawmakers to form a new government.
“I have presented a list of a convincing majority of members of parliament who support me to His Majesty,” said Anwar, who first announced on September 23 he had the numbers to take power. “With these documents, it is abundantly clear that we have registered a formidable convincing majority among parliamentarians.”
But less than an hour after Anwar spoke, the palace rebuffed him. It said in a statement that Anwar didn’t submit lawmakers’ names to back up his claim, and the monarch made no reference to interviewing MPs to determine where they stand as he did back in February, when former leader Mahathir Mohamad’s abrupt resignation triggered a round of political turmoil that prompted Muhyiddin to take power with a razor-thin majority.
Instead, the king advised Anwar “to abide by and respect such legal processes enshrined in the Federal Constitution” before stressing the need for the country to unite to fight the coronavirus, according to the statement by Indera Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, the palace’s Comptroller of the Royal Household. It was unclear if he was verifying Anwar’s claims, or what the next step would be.
Investors cheered the developments, with Malaysia’s benchmark stock index rising 0.5% at the close after erasing an earlier decline of as much as 0.4%. The country is facing another surge in virus cases that threaten a rebound in the economy, which shrank 17.1% in the second quarter when the government imposed a lockdown.
For the moment it appears that Muhyiddin is safe, even though speculation has been rife that he may soon call a snap election due to squabbles in his disparate ruling coalition. In a press briefing on Tuesday, Muhyiddin kept mum on Anwar while announcing that Malaysia would be a priority recipient of the coronavirus vaccine that China is developing.
“I don’t want to comment on what Anwar did in the palace,” Muhyiddin said. “I leave it to the best judgment of the king.”
For Anwar, the move may be one of his last chances to take power. He was seen as Mahathir’s successor in the 1990s before he was fired in the wake of the Asian Financial Crisis, after which he spent six years in prison on convictions for abuse of power.