#1MDB, Other Scandals May be Last Straw for Malaysia's Ruling Party
But what might actually cause Najib real problems is the unlikely coalition that has been forged among opposition politicians, anti-graft reformists, and even former Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, whom Najib sacked in July 2015. The leader of this unlikely alliance, known as the Save Malaysia campaign, is former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the divisive former strongman who ruled Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. It's not a party designed to compete against the UMNO, but a movement focused on forcing Najib from office.
The group has been preparing for a tour of Malaysia's rural states in a bid to wrest the support of ethnic Malays from the prime minister. The 90-year-old Mahathir is most likely gambling that he can convince powerful figures within UMNO, such as Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, that Najib's position is untenable and that they should try to arrange a face-saving exit for him before the next general election, which must be held before 2018. "A potential threat may come from disgruntled elite figures that have been removed from their post and that will turn against [Najib] publicly," said Michael Buehler, an expert in Southeast Asian politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.
Even opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, whom Mahathir jailed in 1998, has offered support for the alliance. Zaid Ibrahim, a former law minister and ex-UMNO member, says Mahathir's alliance will gain traction for "better leaders and for better government" as the campaign moves toward its goal of gathering 1 million signatures calling for Najib's ouster. Insiders say, however, that the coalition is wary of overplaying its hand by engineering mass protests for fear of provoking a draconian government response.
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