BANGKOK -- That politics is a power game was reconfirmed late last month by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's surprise resignation and the subsequent formation of a new government through the complicated alignment and realignment of political parties.
On March 11, or the day after the new Malaysian government came to power, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, 72, and International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali, 55, stood next to each other at a news conference following its first cabinet meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia's federal administrative capital. The two top leaders of the new government masterminded the political upheaval.