Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad declared on Tuesday that he will be running in the next election.
The 97-year-old, who suffered a near-fatal heart attack in December, said during a news conference that he will defend his parliamentary seat in the northern constituency of the popular tourist island of Langkawi.
After chairing a party meeting on election preparations, Mahathir stated at a news conference that he will defend his Langkawi seat "but not as the next prime minister's candidate."
"We have not yet selected a prime minister. A candidate for prime minister is only meaningful if we win" he stated.
Monday, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of parliament, setting the door for the constitutionally mandated general election to be held within sixty days.
It is commonly anticipated that voting will occur before mid-November in order to avoid the monsoon season, which typically causes flooding in the nation.
Mahathir stated that he believes the ruling party, the United Malays National Organization, called the poll to exploit the "weak and unorganized" opposition.
According to political observers, the rainy season would result in a low voter participation, which will benefit UMNO.
After guiding an opposition alliance to a surprise victory in the May 2018 election, Mahathir became the world's oldest head of government when he returned to power for a second time at age 94.
From 1981 until 2003, he was the longest-serving prime minister in history. In 2018, he returned to politics in an attempt to topple his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak.
Najib is presently serving a 12-year prison term for the scam involving the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, in which officials believed that around $4.5 billion was looted and millions of dollars eventually made their way into Najib's personal bank accounts.
The second term of Mahathir was short-lived. His administration lasted less than two years when political defection led to the dissolution of his coalition and his resignation in February 2020.
Mahathir currently leads the Malay-dominated party Pejuang, which has established a coalition with other pro-Malay parties and non-governmental groups under the name Gerakan Tanah Air.
The alliance had planned to compete in the election under the GTA banner, but official authorisation has not yet been granted. In the election, GTA members would utilize the Pejuang flag and logo, according to Mahathir.
Comentarios