Malaysia abuzz as old foes Mahathir, Anwar join hands

Kuala Lumpur

ONCE bitter foes, former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad and the one-time protégé he jailed, Anwar Ibrahim, exchanged a previously-unthinkable handshake on Monday that illustrated the country's topsy-turvy politics.

Dr Mahathir sparked a social media frenzy with a show of support at a court appearance by Anwar, who was jailed again last year by Malaysia's current government following a controversial sodomy conviction, the same charge Dr Mahathir used against him in 1998.

The brief and smiling encounter - images were shared widely online - underlined the current political flux in Malaysia, where opposition to scandal-tainted current Prime Minister Najib Razak has upende…