Former Malaysian President Mahathir Mohamad is seeking to renew his office at the age of 97.

At 97, the historic former President of Malaysia Mahathir Muhammad This year, he will present himself in the general election to renew his parliamentary mandate in order to repeat the feat of 2018 and defeat the ruling coalition.

The decision was taken after the Prime Minister of Malaysia Ismail Sabri Yaakobdissolved parliament last Monday to call for elections to be held in the next 60 days at the height of a crisis of more than two years.

Mahathir Muhammadwho was hospitalized this year for heart problems and also after contracting COVID-19, is running for leader of the Homeland Fighters Party (Pezhuang), which he created in August 2020 after stepping down as prime minister.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the former prime minister said his goal is to defeat the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the main party in the ruling coalition, which he accuses of electoral corruption.

However, he did not want to confirm whether he would run again as a candidate for the presidency.

A total of 24 years as prime minister. Mahathir Muhammad He is Malaysia’s longest-serving president, and in 2018 he became the world’s longest-serving head of government when he was elected after a 15-year hiatus during his first term in office (1981-2003).

Four years ago, Mahathir led a coalition that succeeded in defeating UMNO, his former party in power since independence in 1957, and overthrowing Prime Minister Najib Razak, implicated in corruption scandals with the 1Malaysia State Fund Development Berhad (1MDB) .

Najib, who ruled from 2009 to 2018, has been put on trial and is serving a 12-year prison sentence, while his wife, Rosmah Mansorwas sentenced last month to 10 years in prison for accepting a bribe.

However, Mahathir resigned in March 2020 following an internal crisis in the government coalition, allowing UMNO to return to power in 2021.

political history

Of modest origin and a doctor by profession, Mahathir Muhammad He became leader of the UMNO at the age of 56, and in the first and longest phase of his tenure, he defended pro-Malay ethno-nationalist policies against the Chinese and Indian minorities.

He also contributed to the modernization of the country through projects such as the iconic Petronas Towers and the administrative capital of Putrajaya thanks to oil money.

Mahathir led the prosecution of his old party colleague and former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who was sentenced in 1999 to nine years in prison on sodomy charges, which he denied.

However, faced with corruption from the state fund 1MDB, Mahathir left UMNO and joined forces with Anwar to overthrow Najib, who was once a protégé of the under-ten-year-old ex-president. (EFE)