Malaysian PM warns of one-term government

Bloomberg

Malaysia’s ruling coalition may fail to hold on to power if it doesn’t stop the infighting that has eroded public support, PM Mahathir Mohamad said.
His administration “could be” a one-term government unless it changes, adding he isn’t “too confident” in the next generation of leadership. He spoke at a meeting with reporters in Malaysia’s northern city of Langkawi on Monday.
“They see being in the winning party as, because you have power you can get this and that,” Mahathir said. “We are telling them, ‘Look, even if you are the winning party, the system now is fair to everybody, but of course they could even threaten you, then you will lose support.’”
Questions over whether the prime minister will hand over power to his former rival Anwar Ibrahim have loomed over Malaysian politics ever since Mahathir led the coalition to a surprise victory in 2018. Mahathir said he has told Anwar that he would step down after hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, which is set to continue into November, while Anwar said he expects to become PM around May.
“But you know he goes around saying things which cause a lot of people to worry what kind changes he might bring,” Mahathir said. “This is his problem, it is always like that.”