Malaysia's Mahathir congratulates longtime rival Anwar on appointment as PM

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's veteran politician and former leader Mahathir Mohamad on Friday (Nov 25) congratulated his longtime rival Anwar Ibrahim in a message on Twitter on his appointment as prime minister.

"I say my congratulations to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his appointment as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia. All the best," Dr Mahathir said.

The pair's on-off feuds have dominated Malaysian politics for the past two decades. Mr Anwar was appointed as premier by Malaysia's king on Thursday after an inconclusive election.

Mr Anwar was seen as the prime-minister-in-waiting to succeed Dr Mahathir in the 1990s, when both of them were in United Malays National Organisation (Umno).

Mr Anwar had served as deputy prime minister from 1993 to 1998, and as finance minister from 1991 to 1998 under Dr Mahathir's Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.

However, he was fired in 1998 just after the Asian Financial Crisis.

He spent six years in prison after being convicted of various charges including corruption and sodomy.

The charges, which Mr Anwar denied and maintains were politically motivated, led to the rise of the Reformasi political movement, which demanded cleaner government in the ruling BN.

The movement saw tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets of Malaysia that year.

Mr Anwar founded the party, Parti Keadilan Nasional, in 1998. The party eventually became known in its current form as Parti Keadilan Rakyat, which is the main component party of Pakatan Harapan, the political coalition he now leads.

The 2018 election brought a new alliance, with the pair making an unlikely reunion to take on their former party Umno, led by prime minister Najib Razak, then mired in the billion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal.

They scored a historic victory against Umno and Najib, who is now serving a 12-year jail term for corruption.

Dr Mahathir became prime minister for the second time, with an agreement to hand over the premiership to Mr Anwar later.

He never fulfilled that pact, and their alliance collapsed after 22 months. WITH AGENCIES