Mahathir Mohamad

At 97, Malaysia's former leader Mahathir Mohamad to contest in elections

Malaysia's 97-year-old former leader Mahathir Mohamad announced Tuesday he will defend his seat in the general elections expected next month, though he wouldn't say whether he would be prime minister a third time if his political alliance wins. We have not decided who will be prime minister because the prime minister candidate is only relevant if we win, Mahathir told a news conference. Though unlikely, he would be the oldest ever candidate for the post, which has a five-year term. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved Parliament on Monday for snap polls, caving in to pressure from his United Malays National Organization party, which is hoping for a big win on its own amid feuds with allies in the ruling coalition. The Election Commission is due to fix a date within the week for a vote, which must be held within 60 days of Parliament's dissolution. Despite his nonagenarian status and a health scare this year, Mahathir said he will defend his parliamentary seat in Langkawi ..

Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, 97, hospitalised with Covid-19

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 97, was hospitalised on Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19, his office said. Mahathir has been admitted to the National Heart Institute for observation for a few days as advised by the medical team, it said in a statement. It didn't provide further details on his condition. Mahathir, who was Malaysia's prime minister for two different periods, once was the world's oldest leader. He has had two coronary bypass surgeries but remains robust and sharp witted. He was admitted several times to the same hospital earlier this year. Mahathir later said he was hospitalised after experiencing shortness of breath due to a shortage of red blood cells. He later had a pacemaker implanted but acquired an infection during the surgery. He has said he thought he was dying at that point but somehow made a recovery. Mahathir ruled Malaysia initially for 22 years until his retirement in 2003. Spurred by anger over government corruption, he l

Malaysia's Mahathir sees 50-50 chance of Najib Razak getting 1MDB pardon

Mahathir Mohamad, who was prime minister twice, said Malaysia's king could extend a pardon to Najib in the same way current opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was given

Malaysia's past casts a long shadow on its present-day politics and economy

Unlike neighboring Indonesia and the Philippines, politics in Malaysia seems unable to throw up newcomers or mold-breakers

Twitter deletes Mahathir Mohamad's tweet for glorifying violence in France

Twitter removed former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad's tweet, for violating its rules banning the glorification of violence, shortly after a violent knife attack in Nice, which left three people dead

Malaysian PM names Petronas finance chief as Malaysia Airlines CEO

Wan Zul, as he is commonly known, is a Petronas veteran, joining the company in 1983 as a process engineer and working his way up through the ranks

How a $7 billion dispute helped topple Mahathir's 'New Malaysia'

His then-ruling alliance had suffered a series of by-election losses, stunting its momentum after a historic election win in 2018 against a government in power for six decades

Muhyiddin Yassin sworn in as Malaysia's PM, succeeds Mahathir Mohamad

Muhyiddin served as interior minister in the government that collapsed last Monday

Mahathir loses power struggle, Muhyiddin Yassin to be sworn as PM on Sunday

Muhyiddin Yassin will be sworn in on Sunday, royal officials said, after a week of turmoil that followed the collapse of a reformist government and Mahathir's resignation as premier

Malaysian king summons Mahathir, who's trying to be PM again

A failed bid by Mahathir's supporters to form a new government without his named successor Anwar Ibrahim plunged the country into a political limbo

Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamed returns as interim PM a day after resigning

The political crisis comes at a particularly bad time for the Malaysian economy, after growth fell to a decade low in the final quarter of last year

Malaysia PM Mahathir Mohamad submits resignation to king amid turmoil

Anwar and Mahathir have a notoriously stormy relationship but they reconciled ahead of the 2018 polls, and Mahathir has repeatedly promised to hand over power to his former foe

Payments to offset high-value deals not bribe: PM Mahathir on AirAsia probe

Mahathir was replying to questions by reporters on the controversial sponsorship deal that executives of Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd struck with the budget carrier's sole plane supplier Airbus

Why Mahathir panning Indian politics may boost domestic edible oil firms

India is Malaysia's top buyer of palm oil and that country's efforts to push exports have been the cause of tension for the Indian edible oil refining industry

Piyush Goyal not to meet Malaysian counterpart in Davos amid palm oil row

A Malaysian government spokesman said on Friday that trade ministers from India and Malaysia could meet on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.

Promote oilseed production

Curbs on Malaysian palm oil import present a good opportunity

Despite curbs on imports of palm oil, Malaysia PM Mahathir unmoved

As Malaysian palm refiners stare at a massive loss of business, Mahathir said his government would find a solution

Malaysia PM defends criticising India as Modi govt blocks palm oil import

India, the world's biggest buyer of edible oils, last week changed rules that traders say effectively ban imports of refined palm oil from Malaysia

Four Muslim nations consider gold, barter trade to beat future sanctions

Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad urges Iran, Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar to be self-reliant against threats.

MEA summons top Malaysian diplomat over Mahathir's take on Citizenship Act

The Malaysian prime minister, at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, criticised the citizenship law and voiced concerns over "difficulties" being faced by minorities in India