Malaysian’s Mahathir Mohamad has disclosed his interest to be the prime ministerial candidate for the former ruling coalition.
“I am now confident that I have the numbers needed to garner majority support,” Mahathir said in a statement on Saturday.
Pakatan Harapan, a political coalition in Malaysia, has also declared its full support for Dr Mahathir as candidate for Prime Minister.
It means that Mahathir, who is the world’s oldest government leader at 94, will reunite with on-off ally and long-term rival Anwar Ibrahim, 72, resuming a pact that swept the coalition to a surprise election victory in 2018.
Mahathir has thus likely secured the support he needs to return as prime minister full-time, less than a week after he resigned and was appointed as interim leader.
The political futures of both Mahathir and Anwar had appeared in doubt on Friday, with Anwar competing as a candidate in his own right and Mahathir finding little support for a unity government that would have strengthened his power.
A new alliance had formed behind former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin, 72, who had the backing of the old governing party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
