At 97, Malaysia’s Mahathir vows one final fight
KUALA LUMPUR — At age 97, veteran Malaysia leader Mahathir Mohamad said he was determined to fight one final election to oust a government he said was led by “criminals”, even if it could mean teaming up once again with long-time rival Anwar Ibrahim.
Mr Mahathir, who served Malaysia for more than two decades in two stints as prime minister, is leading one of several opposition coalitions looking to unseat the graft-tainted Barisan Nasional led by incumbent premier Ismail Sabri Yaakob - in an election on
November 19.
In the previous polls in 2018, Mr Mahathir came out of retirement and joined forces with Anwar to oust the Barisan government as it faced corruption allegations over the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
Mr Mahathir promised to hand over the reins to Anwar but their multi-ethnic coalition collapsed in just 22 months due to infighting, paving the way for Barisan, led by Malay nationalist party UMNO, to return to power as part of another alliance.
Analysts say the votes of the country’s majority ethnic Malays are expected to be split in the coming election between various Malay-centric parties that have emerged amidst the turmoil, including Mahathir’s.
In what he said would likely be his final election foray, Mr Mahathir vowed to fight “against bad Malays, criminal Malays… against the Malays who had destroyed this country.”
Several UMNO leaders are facing graft charges brought against them by Mr Mahathir’s administration, including former prime minister Najib Razak, who was jailed for 12 years after being found guilty in September in a case linked to 1MDB. Najib denied wrongdoing.
Race and religion are divisive issues in multi-racial Malaysia, where ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities form a third of the electorate.
Opinion polls suggest the election will be tightly contested with no single party or bloc likely able to win a simple majority.
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