Malaysia’s shock poll result ends 60 years of party’s rule

MALAYSIA’S FORMER leader Mahathir Mohamad has been sworn in as prime minister at the age of 92, cementing a historic change of government.

Mr Mahathir staged a stunning political comeback, leading opposition parties to their first election victory in six decades.

The ceremony before Malaysia’s king at the official state palace in Kuala Lumpur ended a day of uncertainty during which rumours swirled that the National Front, Malaysia’s perennial ruling party, would try to stay in power.

People waiting outside the palace cheered, waved opposition flags and sounded car horns.

The election result is a political earthquake for the Muslimmajority country, sweeping aside the 60-year rule of the National Front and its leader Najib Razak, whose reputation was tarnished by a monumental corruption scandal, a crackdown on dissent and the imposition of an unpopular sales tax that hurt many of his coalition’s poor rural supporters.

It was also a surprising exception to backsliding on democratic values in South East Asia, a region of more than 600 million people where governments of countries including Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines have swung towards harsh authoritarian rule.

Amnesty International said Malaysia’s first ever change in government is an opportunity to “eradicate repressive policies” and put human rights first.

“We need to have this government today without delay,” Mr Mahathir said before the ceremony. There is a lot of work to be done. You know the mess the country is in and we need to attend to this mess as soon as possible and that means today.”

After the result became clear early yesterday, supporters of the incoming government took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to celebrate their unexpected victory.

Many analysts had thought the National Front might lose the popular vote but cling to a majority in parliament due to an electoral system that gave more power to its rural Malay supporters.