Mahathir, Anwar, the king: who are the key players in Malaysia’s political shake-up?

Few countries do political roller-coaster rides like Malaysia.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s shock resignation and subsequent reappointment by the king as interim premier has intrigued citizens and global observers alike.

With all signs pointing to the 94-year-old Mahathir retaining power – with a strengthened hand – under a newly configured government, plaudits have been pouring in from observers who hailed his moves as a masterclass in brinkmanship. His career, which includes a 1981-2003 stint as the country’s leader, is chock-full of instances where he displayed similar guile, but this may be the most daring yet.

If as expected he is given a mandate to lead under a brand new coalition, Mahathir will be free of a major bugbear: a promise he made under the auspices of the now-defunct Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to hand power to his one-time arch rival Anwar Ibrahim midway through the current electoral term.

The other lead personality of this saga is Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leader Anwar. The on again, off again feud between Mahathir and Anwar has dominated politics in the country for the last two decades, and the million dollar question on the lips of Malaysia observers has remained the same through this period: will Anwar ever become prime minister?

Also key in this drama is Azmin Ali, the ambitious economic affairs minister who stood by Anwar in his darkest days before warring with him. On Mahathir’s side of the coin there is Muhyiddin Yassin, a seasoned political warhorse who not only has weathered electoral duels but in recent years also stared down cancer. He has served as a “consigliere” figure for Mahathir and his predecessor Najib Razak, and may have a bigger role to play in time to come, say some well-connected political observers.