Bersatu chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad leaves the PBBM headquarters in Petaling Jaya February 23, 2020. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s office is scheduled to issue a statement soon on talk that he has resigned.

“We will issue a statement later today,” one of his press officers told journalists in a WhatsApp group with media members.

Earlier, news portal The Malaysian Insight reported that Dr Mahathir has handed in his resignation to Istana Negara.

The Prime Minister’s Office has since issued a statement confirming his resignation.

The Yang diPertuan Agong has also accepted the resignation and appointed Dr Mahathir as the interim PM until a successor is appointed.

Dr Mahathir, 94, has been prime minister of Malaysia twice in the nation’s history.

In his first stint, Dr Mahathir was the prime minister under the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration for 22 years or five terms between July 16, 1981 to October 31, 2003, having first assumed the position when he was aged 56 and then stepping down aged 78.

After leading the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to victory in the 14th general elections on May 9, 2018, Dr Mahathir at age 92 was sworn in the next day and took up the position of prime minister again, almost 15 years after his “retirement” from politics when he gave up the post.