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Malaysia election 2022
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad, 97, to contest election to ‘save country from Umno rule’

  • The country is set to hold a national poll in the coming weeks after PM Ismail Sabri dissolved parliament, due to pressure from the ruling Umno party
  • Mahathir warned an Umno victory could lead to imprisoned ex-PM Najib Razak being pardoned for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal

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Malaysia’s former PM Mahathir Mohamad says he will defend his seat of Langkawi. Photo: AFP
Hadi Azmi
Two-time former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has thrown his hat in the ring yet again, as he banks on his newly formed coalition to scuttle plans of his former party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), to reclaim power in snap elections that will be held in weeks.

Mahathir on Tuesday announced his decision to defend his parliamentary seat on the holiday island of Langkawi, surrounded by supporters who turned out in force at his office in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.

“We have decided that in Langkawi the candidate is Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” the 97-year-old told a news conference.

On Monday, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of parliament as widely expected, paving the way for the country’s 15th general election that must be held within the next 60 days.
The move, however, was panned by critics and the opposition, who raised concerns that it coincides with the annual monsoon season that Malaysia’s meteorological department warned could cause widespread floods across the nation.

Several parts of the country have already started experiencing floods after torrential rains in Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. The National Disaster Management Agency on Tuesday issued warnings of rising river levels in the states of Johor, Kedah, Melaka and Pahang on the peninsula.

Mahathir’s decision to defend his parliamentary seat marks his 11th foray into a general election. He lost only once before, more than half a century ago in 1969, by a margin of less than 1,000 votes.

He holds the national record for having the longest tenure as prime minister at 22 years during his first stint that ended in 2003 when he resigned, and also as the world’s oldest serving prime minister when he returned to the post in the aftermath of the watershed 2018 national polls.

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