KUALA LUMPUR - Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said he will sit out the upcoming state elections, claiming that he is “too old” and “senile” to be contesting as a candidate.

“I’m quite old, I’m already senile,” Tun Mahathir, 97, said sarcastically during a press conference on Tuesday, drawing laughter from the crowd.

“I don’t understand. People overseas invited me to speak about what’s next for the world. Japan and South Korea invited me. But, when I’m back here, people ask when am I retiring,” added Dr Mahathir.

Six of Malaysia’s 13 states are due to go to the polls by August. The states are expected to see a fierce contest between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.

The six state elections will be keenly watched as a signal of whether Datuk Seri Anwar’s administration has support from the electorate.

Dr Mahathir served as premier twice – from 1981 to 2003, and from 2018 to 2020 – and resigned both times. He lost his parliamentary seat of Langkawi in the 2022 general election.

Meanwhile, he said he is set to meet PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin to discuss their upcoming cooperation.

This comes after Dr Mahathir said last week that he does not mind working with his one-time foe and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin for the sake of the Malays.

“He (Muhyiddin) supported the Malay Proclamation, and we did not go against each other. These are all public knowledge,” Dr Mahathir said on Tuesday.

The Malay Proclamation campaign by Dr Mahathir was to unite Malays and it lists 12 key issues faced by the community.

Asked if the cooperation with PN would be permanent or just for the upcoming state elections, Dr Mahathir said this will be discussed during the meeting with Muhyiddin.

“We will discuss. Maybe, we will contest in the state polls if that’s the wishes of the public,” added Dr Mahathir.

He was speaking to the press after a closed-door meeting on the roundtable negotiations of the Malay Proclamation, which was attended by several top leaders, such as Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Earlier, Dr Mahathir said that all leaders present during the meeting agreed to address issues faced by the Malays.

“This is not to deny the rights of the non-Malays,” he added.

He spoke about the oppression faced by Malaysians during the British colonial era, adding that prosperity was enjoyed by all races after the government was replaced by one that was dominated by the Malay community.

“Don’t assume that our movement is anti-non-Malays. We are not against non-Malays; anything we do in future, we take into consideration the rights of others.”

Dr Mahathir said it was important for the Malays to unite regardless of the state elections, as disunity will only make the Malays weak. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK