Malaysia’s election coming up, Mahathir running for re-election
The 97-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, a former prime minister of Malaysia, has declared his desire to remain active in politics as the general election campaigns gets underway.
Mohamad, who was elected prime minister for a second time in 2018, is still confident in his ability to carry out the duties of the position.
However, he said on Saturday, “my own supporters believed that this should be my last effort since, despite being 97 years old, I am still functional, I can still move around, be active, still discuss, and still make speeches.”
The Barisan Nasional (BN), or National Front, coalition is expected to make a strong comeback in the campaigns, which got underway after the leaders submitted their nominations on Saturday.
Alternatively, political reformers may see their leader, Anwar Ibrahim, realise a long-held dream of becoming prime minister.
Ismail Sabri, the prime minister, competes against Muhyiddin Yassin and Anwar Ibrahim, both veterans. The election, which will be place on November 19, is open to at least 21 million Malaysians.
No single party or coalition will gain a simple majority in the 222-seat house, according to polls and pundits, so competing alliances will need to work together to form the next administration.
Ismail, a member of the BN coalition, claimed that no parliamentary seat could be won easily in this election, according to state news agency Bernama.
Adib Zalkapli, a director at political consulting firm Bower Group Asia, remarked, “This is the first time we are witnessing three equally strong coalitions with experienced leaders contesting.”
According to him, there is a good chance that there won’t be a clear winner in the polls and that coalitions will need to bargain in order to create a government.
According to James Chin, an Asia scholar at Australia’s University of Tasmania, “the old ruling party Barisan Nasional will do extremely well and it is highly likely that the only other coalition that can challenge BN is Pakatan Harapan.”
The United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and BN established the administration that lasted an uninterrupted 60 years after Malaysia obtained independence from the British in 1957, making it the coalition with the longest continuous tenure in history.
Malaysia’s election coming up, Mahathir running for re-election
However, in 2018, because to public outrage over corruption, the government was overthrown when Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH), or Alliance of Hope, lost the election.
The PH regime was overthrown in 2020 when the UMNO retook control. There have been three premiers in the nation since the most recent election in 2018
