Mahathir back in race

When two-time former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he wanted to earn his ‘‘work till death’’ title, he wasn’t joking. At 97, Mahathir is back in Saturday’s election race as the head of a new ethnic Malay alliance. Denounced for being an autocrat during his first 22-year rule until 2003, Mahathir was welcomed as a saviour after leading the opposition to oust a long-ruling corruptionstained party in 2018. He became the world’s oldest leader at 92, but the government fell in 22 months. The United Malays National Organisation, which had ruled since 1957 until its defeat, bounced back to power. Malaysia has had three prime ministers since 2018.