FORMER prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has failed to defend the Langkawi parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15).
In what was seen as his first defeat in a general election in 53 years, the 97-year-old veteran leader – who served as Malaysia’s prime minister for more than two decades in two stints – came fourth in a five-cornered fight in the island constituency.
The Langkawi parliamentary seat was won by Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Datuk Suhaimi Abdullah. Suhaimi received 25,463 votes (53.6%), Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datuk Armishah Siraj with 11,945 votes (25.2%), Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Zabidi Yahya with 5,417 (11.4%), Mahathir with 4,566 votes (9.6%), and independent candidate Datuk Paduka Abd Kadir with 89 votes (0.2%).
Earlier this month, Mahathir told Reuters in an interview this month that he would retire from politics if he lost.
“I don’t see myself being active in politics until I’m 100-years-old,” he said.
“The most important thing is to transfer my experience to the younger leaders of the party.” – Nov 20, 2022
Main pic credit: Bernama
