KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday he had the “strong” backing of lawmakers in parliament and was seeking an audience with the king to form a new government.
The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since an alliance that swept to power in 2018, which was headed by Mahathir Mohamad and included Anwar, collapsed in February amid bitter infighting.
Muhyiddin Yassin became premier at the head of a coalition backed by a scandal-plagued party which had been ousted at the polls two years earlier, but he had only a wafer-thin majority in parliament.
Speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, veteran politician Anwar — who has long sought to become prime minister — said he now had the backing of enough MPs to form the government and oust Muhyiddin.
“Conclusively we have a strong, formidable majority,” he said, but did not reveal the number of lawmakers backing him.
“The government under the leadership of Muhyiddin Yassin has fallen.”
A government must command the support of a majority of the 222 MPS in parliament.
The was no immediate reaction from Muhyiddin. He was due to give a televised address to the nation later Wednesday.
Anwar said he had been granted an audience with the king on Tuesday but the meeting was postponed as the monarch is receiving treatment at a heart center in Kuala Lumpur.
The 73-year-old said he would meet with the king, who formally appoints the country’s prime minister, once he recovers, and would reveal more details to the public afterwards.
Anwar said a number of MPs had “expressed their deep dissatisfaction with the current leadership.”
“They recognize that the country must have strong, stable and accountable leadership to manage the crisis and to do so with compassion and concern for the plight of all people who are struggling in this pandemic economy.”
His move came ahead of weekend elections for the legislature in the eastern state of Sabah, which will be a major test of the current government’s popularity.
Muhyiddin’s government has had the difficult task of leading Malaysia through the coronavirus pandemic, and the economy suffered its worst contraction in more than 20 years in the second quarter amid a strict lockdown.
Long-time opposition leader Anwar was a key figure in the alliance that won a shock victory at landmark elections in 2018, toppling a scandal-plagued coalition that had ruled Malaysia uninterrupted for over six decades.
Voters kicked out the old regime in large part due to anger at former premier Najib Razak’s involvement in a massive financial scandal which saw billions looted from state coffers.
Mahathir, now 95, became prime minister for a second time and Anwar was released from jail, where he had been serving a sentence after being convicted of dubious sodomy charges.
Mahathir had promised one-time nemesis Anwar he would hand over power to him once he stepped down, but tensions grew between rival factions amid suspicions that Mahathir would renege on the deal.
Mahathir then quit as premier, leading to the government’s collapse.
Muhyiddin outmaneuvered Mahathir and succeeded in forming a coalition dominated by the country’s Muslim majority that included Najib’s party, and was appointed premier by the king without an election.
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Malaysia’s Anwar says has ‘strong’ support to form govt
Malaysia’s Anwar says has ‘strong’ support to form govt
- The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since an alliance that swept to power in 2018
- Muhyiddin Yassin became premier at the head of a coalition backed by a scandal-plagued party which had been ousted at the polls two years earlier
EU to suspend 93 billion euro retaliatory trade package against US for 6 months
- “With the removal of the tariff threat by the US we can now return to the important business,” Gill said
- The Commission will soon make a proposal “to roll over our suspended countermeasures”
BRUSSELS: The European Commission said on Friday it would propose suspending for another six months an EU package of retaliatory trade measures against the US worth 93 billion euros ($109.19 billion) that would otherwise kick in on February 7.
The package, prepared in the first half of last year when the European Union was negotiating a trade deal with the United States, was put on hold for six months when Brussels and Washington agreed on a joint statement on trade in August 2025.
US President Donald Trump’s threat last week to impose new tariffs on eight European countries over Washington’s push to acquire Greenland had made the retaliatory package a handy tool for the EU to use had Trump followed through on his threat.
“With the removal of the tariff threat by the US we can now return to the important business of implementing the joint EU-US statement,” Commission spokesman Olof Gill said.
The Commission will soon make a proposal “to roll over our suspended countermeasures, which are set to expire on February 7,” Gill said, adding the measures would be suspended for a further six months.
“Just to make absolutely clear — the measures would remain suspended, but if we need them at any point in the future, they can be unsuspended,” Gill said.
