Below is a timeline depicting how Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the 91-year old former Prime Minister of Malaysia, managed to cobble together a loose alliance of former political foes and disgruntled members of the ruling Barisan Nasional regime to oppose the current Prime Minister, Najib Razak.
Recently, he marched to Parliament, side by side with his former foes, as part of a “Save Malaysia” coalition with whom he has begun collaborating in a bid to force Najib’s resignation.
Mahathir accuses Najib of massive corruption and has formed a new party to siphon off disgruntled members of UMNO (his former party and the one Najib currently controls) .
Najib is besieged by a series of scandals allegedly involving money laundering, corruption, and misappropriation of funds.
Video: The Wall Street Journal exposes how Najib Razak ended up with hundreds of millions of dollars in his bank account.
March 1, 2016 – Dr. Mahathir announces his resignation from UMNO, the party that he had helmed himself for over 22 years as Prime Minister, following the sacking of his son, Mukhriz, as the Chief Minister of his home state of Kedah. Photo Credit: Straits Times
July 20, 2016 – The U.S Department of Justice files lawsuits seeking the recovery of over $1 Billion associated with an international money laundering conspiracy misappropriated from 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund involving members of Najib Razak’s family and inner circle. Photo Credit: FBI
August 30, 2016 – Mahathir joins street protests demanding electoral reforms as well as the ouster of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Photo Credit: Zero Hedge
September 5, 2016 – Mahathir reconciles with former arch-nemesis Anwar Ibrahim, whom he allegedly had jailed on trumped up charges of sodomy and corruption. Photo Credit: CNA
November 5, 2016 – Mahathir’s wife, Dr. Siti Hasmah, meets with Anwar’s wife Dr. Wan Azizah, indicating strengthening ties between the two former political foes. Photo Credit: MT
November 8, 2016 – Mahathir (left), pictured with another longtime political adversary, Lim Kit Siang of the ethnic Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party (DAP), walking together towards a grand meeting of Opposition leaders in Parliament. The veteran statesmen are leading a populist revolt against scandal-embroiled Prime Minister Najib Razak and his ruling Barisan Nasional government. Photo: CNA
