Malaysia Groups Calls for Mahathir to Set Date for Handing Power to Anwar

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian civil society groups are urging Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to set a date for when he will hand over power to former rival Anwar Ibrahim. And they want it to be between a year from now to May 2021.

The groups include Bersih, or Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, which was behind one of the country’s biggest protests in 2015 that drew an estimated 300,000 people to a rally campaigning for election reform and anti-corruption. The groups are now seeking a “clear transition package” to restore political stability, which should include Anwar being named deputy prime minister six months ahead of becoming premier.

“With a clear and publicly known transition plan, it would quash rumors and conspiracy theories perpetrated by those who seek to gain from the instability and see the breakup of the coalition,” the groups said in an open letter to Mahathir and the ruling coalition leaders.

Mahathir’s promise hit a stumbling block last month when a sex scandal pit two of his likeliest successors, Anwar and Minister of Economic Affairs Azmin Ali, against each other. Mahathir, who pledged to step down only once Malaysia is on stable footing, may extend his stay in power as the ruling party struggles to contain the internal rift.

The letter, which was also signed by Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement and Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia, added a reminder for Mahathir to fulfill his pledge to limit the premiership to two terms and reduce the concentration of executive power in the hands of the prime minister.

Mahathir has repeatedly promised to hand over power to Anwar, without setting a timeline.

“I have given an undertaking that I will step down when I find that the situation in the country has been put on an even keel and can carry on from there,” the prime minister said Aug. 1. “It may take two years, it may take three years, I don’t know, but we are working on that.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Anisah Shukry in Kuala Lumpur at ashukry2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Yudith Ho at yho35@bloomberg.net, Chan Tien Hin

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