Mahathir Mohamad, 92, is set to become the prime minister of Malaysia after defeating Najib Razak in a fiercely contested election on Thursday, that overturns the government’s 60-year rule.
Mohamad said he expected to be sworn in as prime minister later Thursday after his stunning election win, adding there was an “urgency” for him to take office.
“We expect today for me to be sworn in as prime minister,” he told a press conference, addressing concerns over a delay by saying that some “confusion” over the process had now been cleared.
Mahathir Mohamad, was Malaysia’s longest running prime minister between 1981 and 2003 with an iron fist. At 92-years-old, Mahathir has decided to return to the political fray. His win marks the end of the nine-year tenure of Najib, who came to power in 2009 and whose reputation was tarnished by the 1MDB corruption scandal.
Mahathir’s opposition alliance ended the long hold on power of the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has been in power in Malaysia since its birth as an independent country in 1957.
Many Malaysians living abroad were unhappy with the polling day falling on a Wednesday, as millions of voters were unable to cast their vote.
Malaysia’s outgoing Prime Minister Najib Razak has said “I accept the verdict of the people and Barisan Nasional are now committed to the principles of parliamentary democratic,”
But didn’t concede defeat to 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, “because no party has got a simple majority the king will make a decision on who will be appointed as Prime Minister. Barisan Nasional will respect whatever decision made by the king.”
A flag-waving crowd of supporters gathered on a field outside the headquarters of Mahathir’s party near Kuala Lumpur.
Suva Selvan, a 48-year-old doctor, said he felt the country had just won its independence. “I feel that with this change we probably can see something better in the future … our hope for the future is a better government, fair, free and united,”
>Juthy Saha
Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad to Become the World's Oldest PM
