Tun Dr Mahathir took up the position of Prime Minister back in May 2018. This is his second stint as Malaysia’s Prime Minister.

He quit UMNO back in 2016 and returned to the political scene as the Prime Minister candidate for the Pakatan Harapan coalition almost two years later and won the position.

People then were wondering how long Dr Mahathir will hold the position for. He previously promised that he will not hold on to power and will pass the seat to Datuk Seri Anwar eventually.

Dr Mahathir Resigns As Prime Minister

Today (24 Feb 2020), Dr Mahathir’s official Twitter account, @chedetofficial, announced his official resignation as Prime Minister.

Kenyataan Akhbar : Peletakan Jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia pic.twitter.com/naW2MajfsG

— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) February 24, 2020

Here’s the translation of the letter:

Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad sent his resignation letter as Prime Minister of Malaysia today.

The letter was sent to the senior TP at 1 o’clock today

Signed off: The Prime Minister Office

His political party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, has reportedly quit the ruling government coalition, Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope), as well.

Ministers Reportedly Fired Immediately

And it’s not just the Prime Minister.

According to BFM News, two ministers were also fired from PKR with immediate effect.

BREAKING: DS Saifuddin Nasution confirms that DS Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin have been fired from PKR with immediate effect.

— BFM News (@NewsBFM) February 24, 2020

They are Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Zuraida Kamaruddin, Minister of Housing and Local Government.

Calls For Dr Mahathir To Resign

This development comes after political turmoil in Malaysia as Anwar accuses the Prime Minister of attempting to create a ‘new government’ with UMNO.

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Pro-Anwar supporters also called for Dr Mahathir to resign as Prime Minister. If not, they will ‘take to the streets‘ just like back in 1998.

He had previously mentioned that he will give up his seat, but only after Malaysia hold the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2020.

Tactical Move?

If you’ve watched enough political drama, you’d be wondering if this is a “tactical move”.

Sources told The Straits Times that the goal is to let the King reject the resignation as Dr Mahathir will still have the support from the majority of Parliament. The ultimate goal is to replace the current ruling pact with a wider coalition that includes opposition parties Umno (the one who used to be the Government) and PAS.

Simply put, it’s a tactical move to create another coalition with old Government Umno while staying in power.

Or maybe those sources mentioned have watched too much political dramas.

Let’s wait and see.