Malaysia's Mahathir says will defend Langkawi seat in upcoming election

PUTRAJAYA — Former two-time prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad confirmed on Tuesday (Oct 11) he will seek reelection by defending his Langkawi parliamentary seat in the coming general election.

However, the Opposition lawmaker did not indicate if he is presenting himself as candidate to be prime minister again, saying the issue depends on whether the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition helmed by his Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) wins the polls or otherwise.

“PM candidates are only relevant if we win. If we lose, it is not relevant,” he told a news conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here.

Dr Mahathir also said GTA plans to field 120 candidates nationwide in the 15th general election.

“We will contest in at least 120 seats, including in Sabah,” he said.

He added that the coalition candidates will stand under Pejuang’s banner as the Registrar of Society has yet to approve GTA’s application.

The sole exception would be in Kelantan, where GTA candidates will stand under the banner of Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), which is led by Datuk Ibrahim Ali as president.

Dr Mahathir said the full list of GTA candidates will be announced by its respective party presidents in the near future.

GTA filed its registration as a political coalition on September 6.

GTA comprises four parties, namely Pejuang, Putra, Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and the Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman). MALAY MAIL