Malaysia elects 92-year-old as its next prime minister

MAHATHIR MOHAMAD is set to become the world’s oldest prime minster after his opposition party was last night declared the winner of a fractious general election in Malaysia.

After a short and bitter campaign marred by corruption allegations, Mr Mohamad, 92, defeated his former protégé in a major political upset that overturns the government’s 60-year rule, official results showed.

Najib Razak, the incumbent prime minister, had been widely expected to lose the popular vote but to win the most number of seats in parliament in a first-past-the-post system that opponents claimed was weighted in favour of his ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

Instead, the election result went down to the wire after a formidable challenge by Mr Mohamad, the former political strongman who ruled Malaysia for 22 years and who pulled himself out of retirement to fight a prime minister he claimed was tainted by a multibillion dollar corruption scandal.

Results from the Election Commission last night showed opposition group Pakatan Harapan, plus a party in the Borneo state of Sabah it is allied with, winning 121 seats – more than the threshold of 112 seats needed in parliament to form a government.

The elections were dominated by an investigation into allegations that billions were siphoned from a state investment fund, 1MDB, and laundered through foreign bank accounts. Mr Razak has denied any wrongdoing and has been cleared of any offence by Malaysia’s attorney general.

“We are not seeking revenge, we want to restore the rule of law,” Mahathir said as he declared victory.