KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday announced plans for a new party that would join an opposition alliance in a bid to oust the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition led by scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Speculation had been rife over the past week that Mahathir, 91, Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister, was planning to start a party with three other former leaders of the United Malay National Organization (UMNO) which Najib now leads.
“We who oppose Najib cannot achieve victory unless we work together as a coalition,” said Mahathir.
He added that he would not contest the next general election, due to be held in 2018, or position himself as a candidate for prime minister.
Mahathir has been critical of Najib’s handling of the 1MDB state fund scandal and called on him to resign.
Mahathir was coy when asked if the three former UMNO leaders — Muhyiddin Yassin, Mukhriz Mahathir and Shafie Apdal — would join him in the new party, just saying that he was “very open” to the idea.
Mahathir said he and colleagues had yet to decide if the new party would represent the Malay-Muslim majority or eschew racial lines. He also did not give a time frame for when the party will be formed.
Last month, Najib announced the UMNO’s supreme council’s decision to sack Muhyiddin, who was then deputy president, and Mahathir’s son, former Kedah Chief Minister Mukhriz, from the party.
Both have been tough critics of Najib, calling for his resignation following allegations of graft and mismanagement at 1MDB.
UMNO vice president Shafie later quit the party in protest against his suspension pending an investigation into his conduct in questioning Najib’s handling of 1MDB.
In February this year, Mahathir quit UMNO, saying it was seen as “supporting corruption” under Najib’s leadership.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that global investigators believed more than $1 billion entered Najib’s personal bank accounts, much of it from 1MDB. None of the information publicly disclosed about the 1MDB investigations across the world has shown any connection between alleged misappropriation of money linked to 1MDB and the prime minister.
Barisan Nasional coasted to victory in two by-elections earlier this month.
Malaysia’s Mahathir to launch party to challenge PM Najib
Malaysia’s Mahathir to launch party to challenge PM Najib
Nepal’s rapper politician who took on the old guard and won
- Shah’s victory over the veteran Marxist leader marks one of the most symbolic results of Nepal’s high-stakes parliamentary election
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah won a dramatic parliamentary contest on Saturday, defeating veteran leader KP Sharma Oli in the former prime minister’s own constituency after staking his political future on the challenge.
Shah’s victory over the veteran Marxist leader marks one of the most symbolic results of Nepal’s high-stakes parliamentary election, held six months after mass anti-corruption protests toppled the government.
His win caps a bold gamble by the 35-year-old reformist, who resigned as Kathmandu mayor to challenge Oli, the 74-year-old four-time premier, in his own stronghold.
Shah had taken an unassailable lead on Saturday, according to Election Commission figures.
He will become prime minister if his Rastriya Swatantra Party party secures a parliamentary majority, as Election Commission trends on Saturday put it on course to do.
Better known as Balen, the sharply dressed 35-year-old has emerged as a symbol of youth-driven political change.
Born in Kathmandu in 1990, he was a schoolboy during Nepal’s 1996-2006 Maoist civil war, which killed thousands and eventually ended the monarchy.
Shah trained as a civil engineer but first gained national attention through Nepal’s underground hip-hop scene, releasing songs that railed against corruption and inequality.
Those themes, he says, still guide his politics.
“If a person involved in politics also engages in literature or music, it becomes emotionally driven,” said Shah during his campaign for Thursday’s elections in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people.
“We also need to nurture the emotional aspect of our lives, and a politician should possess that sensitivity.”
