Anwar says there are attempts to form new Malaysian government

Anwar Ibrahim, the political leader touted as Malaysia’s next premier, said there are attempts to topple the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition which are being orchestrated by members of his own party along with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s political group.

Anwar, who is president of the People’s Justice Party or PKR, said some in his group and Mahathir’s Bersatu party met with the country’s king on Sunday. He was responding to a question at a religious sermon streamed on Facebook.

"Right now we are waiting for information,” Anwar said. "But we know there’s an attempt to topple PH to form a new government. And it involves our former friends in Bersatu as well as a few who betrayed PKR. So we wait first. They have met with the king today and there’s been no announcement.”

A spokesperson for Bersatu couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on Anwar’s remarks.

Azmin Ali, who is deputy president of PKR, was reported to have met with the king, The Star newspaper said. Azmin, who is also economic affairs minister, has at times been publicly at odds with Anwar.

While the monarchy’s role in Malaysia is largely ceremonial, the king retains some discretionary powers and political leaders typically meet the ruler before announcing major political changes.

The question on when Mahathir will hand over to his successor has been a subject of focus right from when he became premier in May 2018. There was no fixed timeline and he most recently said it would be after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings later this year, which Malaysia is hosting.

At a Friday press conference, Mahathir said he had unanimous agreement from Pakatan Harapan leaders to stay in power through the APEC meetings, and held the prerogative to decide whether to step down at all. Anwar, who was at the media briefing, concurred and said he would need to be patient.