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| - Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, the world's oldest leader at 94, looks set to finally lose power after a week of political turmoil sparked by the government's collapse and his resignation. Less then two years after staging a remarkable comeback to return for a second stint as premier, he has been outmanoeuvred by a former ally during a week of furious political horse-trading. A former doctor who entered politics in the 1960s, Mahathir governed Malaysia with an iron fist during his first stint in office from 1981 to 2003, with accusations of rights abuses overshadowing a period that also saw Malaysia transform from a sleepy Southeast Asian backwater into a relatively affluent country. He returned to frontline politics after falling out with one-time protégé Najib Razak over allegations huge sums were looted from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Mahathir teamed up with parties that he suppressed while in power to take on the organisation he once led, and their "Pact of Hope" alliance stormed to a historic victory in 2018. But his second stint in office at the head of an uneasy coalition was not easy. The government struggled to push through reforms, faced criticism for failing to protect the rights of the country's Muslim majority, and was riven by infighting over who would succeed Mahathir. He had promised to eventually hand power to nemesis-turned-ally Anwar Ibrahim. But last week a renegade faction of MPs joined with opposition parties in a bid to topple the government and block Anwar's rise. The subsequent collapse of Mahathir's government and resignation sparked the crisis that eventually led to little-known former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin being named premier by the king Saturday -- and appears to spell the end of Mahathir's time in power. Muhyiddin is heading a coalition dominated by the country's Muslim majority, which includes the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Najib's party which was ousted in 2018. A wily political operator, Mahathir has long been a divisive figure. He is remembered fondly by some as a champion of the country's Muslims and the father of modern Malaysia, credited with policies that helped the economy blossom. But he was also criticised for disregarding human rights, undermining the judiciary, jailing political opponents and pushing policies that exacerbated racial divisions in the multi-ethnic country. He was notorious for his acid-tongued attacks on his foes and what he saw as Western neo-colonialism -- in one outburst, he described Europeans as greedy, warmongering sexual deviants. Even in retirement, he wielded huge influence from behind the scenes and had a hand in helping his successors gain power. Mahathir was spurred out of retirement to take on Najib over the 1MDB scandal. "The biggest mistake that I have made in my life is choosing Najib," he said in one broadside. "I want to fix this mistake." To take on Najib, he buried the hatchet with Anwar -- the men's stormy relationship is legendary. Anwar was Mahathir's heir-apparent until the premier sacked him in 1998 over political differences, and he was subsequently jailed on charges of sodomy and abuse of power, which critics said were politically motivated. Anwar was released from prison following his alliance's victory but many questioned whether Mahathir would really stick to a pledge to hand power to his one-time nemesis. sr/jsm/axn
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