Malaysia’s Mahathir sworn in as world’s oldest prime minister

KUALALUMPUR: Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, was on Thursday sworn in as the country’s seventh prime minister, after a shock election win against the country’s long-ruling coalition.

Mahathir’s opposition alliance scored a surprise victory at the polls to break the grip on power of the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has governed Malaysia uninterrupted since its birth as an independent country in 1957.

It capped a dramatic comeback for Mahathir, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 22 years and came out of retirement to take on Prime Minister Najib Razak after the leader became embroiled in a massive corruption scandal.

He was sworn in during a brief and simple ceremony attended by leaders of parties in the Pakatan Harapan alliance.

Later, speaking at press conference, Mahathir said he will try to make the ringgit currency as steady as possible, and return billions of dollars lost in a graft scandal at state fund 1MDB.

“We believe that we can get most of the 1MDB money back ... we have to increase the confidence of investors in the administration,” he said, adding that some of Malaysia’s debt was “too big” and needed to be renegotiated.

Mahathir said the new government would abolish “oppressive and unfair” laws and study the new anti-fake news law and the national security council act.

Earlier, Mahathir and his wife Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali were driven into the national palace in Kuala Lumpur for an audience with the king, passing hundreds of supporters waving flags and chanting the national anthem.

As it became clear that Barisan Nasional was facing a historic wipeout, Najib kept a low profile before surfacing on Thursday morning to tell a press conference that he accepted the people’s will, although he stopped short of conceding

defeat.

The opposition’s shock victory triggered euphoria and a sense of relief that a leader who was accused of massive graft and fanning racial tensions in the multi-ethnic country was finally on his way out.

The opposition faced an uphill battle at the election due to what critics said were no-holdsbarred attempts by Najib to hang on to power.

In the event, voters turned out in droves across the country to oust Najib.