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With GE Coming, Mahathir Has Now Responded on Whether He’s Keen to be PM (Again)

2022-09-26 , 9:48 pm

While most of us might aspire to retire as early as we possibly can, it seems like that’s not the case for others.

And one person who’d fall under the second category is none other than Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister (PM) whom we all know.

With Malaysia’s next General Election (GE) to elect their new Prime Minister coming up soon, it seems like Dr Mahathir (who, impressively, was born before Queen Elizabeth II and still actively involved in politics) might be breaking his own records again after his two stints as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Yes, he might end up being Malaysia’s prime minister.

Again, for the third time.

Mahathir’s New Party Taking Part in Upcoming Elections

Just last Saturday (24 September), Dr Mahathir, 97, was present during an online forum titled “Hard Talk with Dr Mahathir” that was broadcast on Facebook by his political party, Prejuang.

Pejuang, an opposition party, was set up by Dr Mahathir himself in 2020, which makes me wonder what I’ll be doing with my life when I’m 95.

The party is also part of a coalition called Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) that it formed with three other parties, and Mahathir is also this party’s chairman as well. (I mean, duh.)

Regarding his newly-founded party, Dr Mahathir also revealed earlier in August that Pejuang will be ready to take part in the upcoming GE as part of GTA.

Prior to this announcement, Pejuang participated in the Johor state election that took place this year.

And for those who still find Malaysian politics too complicated, here’s all you need to know about the actually-not-so-complicated politics in Malaysia before we move on:

If you hadn’t gotten the hang of Malaysian politics, I’m sure you do now.

But apart from the announcement that GTA will be entering the GE soon, there was clearly another question that weighed much more on viewers’ minds.

Revealed that He is Willing to Take on Role if There is “Insistence”

During the forum, the question that was on everyone’s minds was asked: Whether or not Dr Mahathir will be running for the title of Prime Minister again.

After all, it’s pretty reasonable if someone decides to retire after being Prime Minister twice, being the Prime Minister who has served for the longest amount of time as well as being Prime Minister at the impressive age of 92.

But it seems like Dr Mahathir isn’t thinking in that direction, for he clarified that he will still be willing to fill in the role if there is “insistence” and if there is no one available to take on the role of Prime Minister.

This news comes after he previously said told the New Straits Times in June last year that he is not keen on becoming Malaysia’s PM for the third time.

However, he added that he will prefer to “rest and advise” the next PM instead if another suitable candidate is elected.

May Only be PM for 1 Year

In addition to that, he also clarified that he will not be taking on the role for an entire term if elected.

Instead, he has plans to stay as PM for around one year if he becomes PM again instead of assuming the role until the next GE.

Criticised Malaysian Government, Did Not Form New Party to Become PM Again

In addition to that, Dr Mahathir also revealed that he did not choose to start Pejuang in order for him to become PM again.

Rather, he said that he founded the party to come up with policies that will benefit the Malay community in Malaysia, and to witness them being put into place by a government who “cares and loves the nation, country and religion”.

Regarding the current government in Malaysia, he proceeded to criticise them and said that the current leaders in Malaysia are “unqualified” and that the ministers do not have good qualifications.

He even added that the leaders would not be able to save the country if Malaysia gets hit by a financial crisis since the qualities of the country’s leaders have gotten soo much worse. (Ouch.)

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Mahathir’s Political Career

As most of us may know, Dr Mahathir has been the Prime Minister of Malaysia twice, and is the first and (currently) the only person to have taken on the position twice.

He first took on the role for 22 years from July 1981 to October 2003 before emerging victorious again in 2018, making him both the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia.

During his second stint as PM, he even managed to form a new government in Malaysia after Pakatan Harapan, the coalition under his leadership, won GE2018 by overthrowing UMNO, his former party that had ruled Malaysia for a prolonged period of time.

His term also oversaw the arrest and conviction of fellow former Prime Minister Najib Razak.

However, despite him being reelected, Dr Mahathir chose to resign just two years after that in 2020, causing UMNO to regain authority over the Malaysian government again.

As for now, he is still a Member of Parliament for Langkawi, and may still stand in Langkawi for Malaysia’s next GE according to Malay Mail.