Malaysia is increasingly becoming the land of political upsets. Two years ago, Dr Mahathir Mohammad, then 92, challenged his predecessor that he would contest the election and win. His victory was seen as a shocking surprise. Now, his resignation has sent shockwaves across the region and indeed beyond into the wider Muslim world as well. His resignation, accepted by the Malaysian king, has further plunged the country into a political crisis after the Malaysian United Indigenous Party left the ruling coalition, Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope). This has stopped the transition of power and Dr Mahathir has been asked to stay as interim minister. The collapse of the ruling coalition has prevented Anwar Ibrahim from succeeding Dr Mahathir. This is what the elder statesman wants to happen. Two years ago, he had promised Anwar that he would succeed him as prime minister when Mahathir made an unlikely alliance with his party. Anwar has been in jail over sodomy charges under the Mahthir government. It is very likely that Dr Mahathir played a role in the collapse of the ruling coalition. Also, his resignation from the top post has made him more relevant to the government and political establishment. Southeast Asia’s leading statesman has time and again said that he does not want to rule forever and that he would transfer power after a few years. All eyes are on the reaction of his presumed successor. Dr Mahathir ruled Malaysia first from 1981 to 2003. The iron-fisted rule steered the Southeast Asian country towards development and progress, making it a leading economy of the region. In the post-Mahathir era, Malaysia plunged into corruption. His predecessor Najib Razak often accused him of being the responsible for the mess in Malaysian politics. Razak was, however, not innocent as his rule would often hit headlines for corrupt practices. The 2018 election, which brought Dr Mahathir back to the power corridors, spoke of people’s aspirations for change. Since assuming power, the elder statesman was striving to regain his old pace but failed, mostly due to internal political matters. Recently, he arranged a summit to bring Muslim countries on one platform on economic issues. The summit generated good coverage in the Pakistani press owing to the fact that our prime minister could not make to it due to Saudi pressure. Malaysia under Dr Mahathir has supported Pakistan on Kashmir and FATF. We wish Malaysia well in these troubled times. *