Mahathir tenders resignation to king

Shocking political upheaval

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 24, (AP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad tendered his resignation to Malaysia’s king on Monday while his political party quit the ruling alliance, in a shocking political upheaval less than two years after his election victory.

The prime minister’s office said in a brief statement that Mahathir, 94, submitted his resignation to the palace at 1 pm but gave no further details. Mahathir also quit as chairman of his ruling Bersatu party.

The stunning turn of events come amid plans by Mahathir’s supporters to team with opposition parties to form a new government and thwart the transition of power to his named successor, Anwar Ibrahim.

Minutes before his resignation was offered, Bersatu said it would leave the fourparty Alliance of Hope and support Mahathir as the prime minister. Eleven other lawmakers, including several Cabinet ministers, also announced they are quitting Anwar’s party to form an independent bloc.

The withdrawal of more than three dozen lawmakers means the ruling alliance has lost its majority in Parliament, throwing the country into an uncertain future and sparking fears of more turmoil over how the political drama will play out.

Opinions are divided on whether Mahathir is quitting for good or making a tactical move to buy time to cobble together a new majority to form a government.

King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who met Bersatu and several other leaders on Sunday, met with Anwar on Monday afternoon and has summoned Mahathir to the palace. Analysts said the king

palace.

Associated Press journalists then saw several soldiers at the headquarters building fire into the air. Shortly afterward, an exchange of fire erupted between the soldiers and police. It was not clear which side began firing at the other first.

The army was disbanded in 1995 after the fall of a dictatorship that used soldiers to repress domestic opponents. President Jovenel Moise reformed the army in 2017, promising that the military would patrol Haiti’s borders, assist in natural disasters and avoid domestic affairs.

At least three men were taken to a hospital near the shooting with wounds to the legs and feet that did not appear to be life-threatening. (AP)

Mexicans march to protest:

More than 1,000 people marched through the center of Mexico City on Friday in opposition to the government’s largest infrastructure projects. could decide on which faction has the support or dissolve Parliament for snap elections.

The political drama unraveled Sunday with maneuvers aimed at keeping Mahathir in power and thwarting Anwar, replaying their decades-old feud. Anwar was Mahathir’s deputy during Mahathir’s first stint as prime minister but fell out politically before reuniting in the political pact that ousted a corruption-tainted government in the May 2018 election. Mahathir has refused to set a date to relinquish power despite a pre-election agreement to hand over power to Anwar.

Attempt

Anwar confirmed late Sunday that there were attempts by some Bersatu members and “traitors” from his party to form a new government in a “betrayal” of their political pact. He called it a “small trial,” saying he has overcome harder times. He even joked that while he may not be Malaysia’s eighth prime minister, he could be the ninth.

Anwar and several alliance leaders met Mahathir at the prime minister’s residence on Monday. Anwar later told reporters that he was satisfied with the meeting, at which Mahathir insisted that the reform agenda must continue and indicated he wouldn’t bow down to those attempting to grab power.

Ironically, the maneuvers would restore to power the Malay party of disgraced former leader Najib Razak, who with several of his party leaders are standing trial for corruption. It would also propel to national

The protest brought together unions, environmentalists, students and representatives of Mexico’s indigenous peoples, a mix that would seem a natural base for populist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but which has become among his most vocal critics.

Erika Cortéz, a member of the Popular Organization Francisco Villa of the Independent Left from the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa, said she opposed the president’s Maya Train project that would move tourists around the Yucatan Peninsula.

The train is one of López Obrador’s signature initiatives, which he says will spur economic development in Mexico’s southeast, but has faced criticism for its environmental impact.

López Obrador “is not in favor of the people,” Cortéz said. “He’s in favor of the businesses, of the people with money.”

Other demonstrators voiced opposition to a rail line that would traverse Mexico’s isthmus connecting the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico and a huge new

Performers from the Portela samba school parade during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on

Feb 24. (AP)

power a fundamentalist Islamic party that rules two states and champions Islamic laws. The two Malay parties still have strong support from ethnic Malays, who account for 60 percent of Malaysia’s 32 million people.

Mahathir has remained silent so far. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who heads another party in Anwar’s alliance, said Mahathir had quit as prime minister and Bersatu chairman to object “this nefarious attempt to subvert and undermine the people’s mandate” to their alliance.

Lim, who was among those who met Mahathir with Anwar, said in a statement that Mahathir had clearly stated that he cannot work with Najib’s Malay party, which he had worked so hard to oust in the 2018 polls. Lim said his party will propose at an alliance emergency meeting Monday night that Mahathir continue as prime minister to deliver the reformist agenda.

Many Malaysians have reacted with dismay and shock on social media, saying moves to form a “backdoor” government would be unethical and that a new election should be called if the ruling alliance collapses.

Analysts warned that such a new government could give rise to Malay Islamic supremacy that would derail Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society.

“If the new government goes through, Malaysia is heading toward a a very regressive stage whereby racial supremacy and religious extremism would become the rule of the day,” said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

oil refinery and a gas-fired power plant.

María de Jesús Patricio, better known as “Marichuy,” who was Mexico’s first indigenous presidential candidate and ran against López Obrador, participated in the march.

Karina Leyte, from San Francisco Tlatenco, walked with a papier-maché jaguar that read “No ecocidal train.” (AP)

Law firm to fight sanctions:

A top official for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government has hired a Washington law firm that also represents Turkey, taking over from another legal team that backed out last month following an outcry from critics who accused it of collaborating with a repressive regime.

Lawyer Bob Amsterdam declined to comment on the nature of work for Maduro’s Inspector General Reinaldo Muñoz, other than saying it would focus on sanctions and human rights issues.

He said Friday that the same US sanctions on the Maduro government put strict limits on what he can say and do on behalf of his client.

But he vigorously defended the decision of Amsterdam & Partners to represent Muñoz, brushing aside calls from Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott and others for lawyers to stay far away from Maduro’s “brutal regime.”

“We aren’t going to bend to the political dictates of Florida,” Amsterdam said. “But I don’t like it when people are denied representation.”

This is the Maduro government’s second attempt in less than a month to find a lobbyist who will go head to head with the Trump administration in pushing for dialogue and an end to sanctions.

The previous firm, Foley & Lardner, backed out of a $12.5

million, five-month contract after Scott in a letter urged his Senate colleagues to boycott the firm. In a filing with the US Justice Department on Friday, Foley said it had transferred to Amsterdam & Partners all funds - a little more than $1 million - it has received from its client.

Foley had hired influential lobbyist Robert Stryk as part of its legal team, but it wasn’t clear if the former congressional aide whose business has boomed under the Trump administration would also work with Amsterdam.

When contacted Friday, Scott reiterated that he would not work with anyone who represents Muñoz or Venezuela.

“Senator Scott will not stand for this,” his office said in a statement. “He will urge every one of his colleagues to stand with him against anyone who willingly represents a dangerous dictator.” (AP)

1 in 3 facing hunger:

One of every three people in Venezuela is struggling to put enough food on the table to meet minimum nutrition requirements as the nation’s severe economic contraction and political upheaval persists, according to a study published Sunday by the UN World Food Program.

A nationwide survey based on data from 8,375 questionnaires reveals a startling picture of the large number of Venezuelans surviving off a diet consisting largely of tubers and beans as hyperinflation renders many salaries worthless.

A total of 9.3 million people roughly one-third of the population - are moderately or severely food insecure, said the World Food Program’s study, which was conducted at the invitation of the Venezuelan government.

Food insecurity is defined as an individual being unable to meet basic dietary needs. (AP)