ALOR SETAR - Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad came out to vote in his northern home state of Kedah on Saturday, in a rare public outing since he was hospitalised earlier in August.
The 98-year-old said federal opposition alliance Perikatan Nasional (PN) would retain power in Kedah, as well as in the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu. He did not rule out a possibility of it winning Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, two states held by its rival Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“We have a chance (to win). Kelantan and Terengganu will be won by PN under PAS (Parti Islam SeMalaysia). We still have a chance in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
“But it is hard in Penang because there are not many areas where PN can win,” Tun Dr Mahathir told reporters after he and his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, cast their votes at a polling station in the state capital of Alor Setar.
Nearly 9.7 million voters are eligible to vote for the 245 state assembly seats being contested in Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
Research houses have predicted that the status quo will remain after polls close, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s PH coalition and its unity government ally Barisan Nasional (BN) retaining power in Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan, and PN remaining the state government in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
Dr Mahathir said if PH loses in the three states which it currently controls, it should view this “rejection by the people” seriously.
“If it (rejection) happens at the state level, there is a possibility it will also happen at the federal level,” he added.
However, he noted that Umno, BN’s linchpin party, had previously won in the last Melaka and Johor state elections but went on to lose badly at the general election in November.
“So we can’t take it as an accurate indicator.”
While the outcome of the six state elections will not affect Datuk Seri Anwar’s two-thirds majority in the federal Parliament, Saturday’s polls are widely seen as a referendum on his unity government.
“I hope (PN) wins,” the nonagenarian, who looked to be in good spirits, told The Straits Times. He joined little-known Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia in February after exiting from Pejuang, the party he founded in 2020.
When asked why he was backing his former foe PN, he said it is less about supporting the coalition and more about gathering the Malay parties together.
“The Malays are split up, so we want them to come together,” he said.
He emphasised that he looked after all communities in multicultural Malaysia during his tenure as prime minister.
Asked by reporters about his health, he said: “I am all right now.”
Dr Mahathir was admitted to the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 1 and treated for an infection before he was discharged on Aug 4.
“My health is okay but I had a bout of slight fever. My doctors always insist I must go to the hospital. I don’t want to go to the hospital; I thought at home I can be treated. But they insist I go to the hospital. I was there two days already and after that, (I was) discharged,” he said.
Dr Mahathir is one of Malaysia’s most prominent and outspoken political figures, having served twice as prime minister for a total of 24 years.
He first led the country from 1981 to 2003 as president of Umno. He returned to power in 2018 at 92 after leading the PH coalition to victory over his former party Umno at the general election in May that year. But his administration collapsed in 2020 due to infighting and party defections.
He ran as a Pejuang candidate for Langkawi in the 2022 General Election but lost his deposit. He has now teamed up with the conservative PAS-led PN coalition for the state elections in an attempt to destabilise the federal government led by Mr Anwar.
Dr Mahathir has suffered several heart problems in recent years, including at least two heart attacks, and has undergone at least two bypass operations.
He was also admitted to hospital in December 2021 and January 2022 for check-ups.
