Malaysia election: Mahathir loses in Langkawi, his first electoral defeat since 1969

KANGAR, Perlis – Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad misplaced his seat in Parliament after residents of Langkawi on Saturday voted to place Perikatan Nasional (PN) accountable for the island constituency.

It’s the 97-year-old’s first defeat in Malaysia’s parliamentary elections since he misplaced in 1969.

The Langkawi seat was received by Datuk Suhaimi Abdullah from PN, with 25,463 votes, or 38.1 per cent of the vote share, on Saturday.

Tun Dr Mahathir managed to garner solely 4,566 votes, or 6.8 per cent – lower than the 12.5 per cent vote threshold required to maintain his deposit as a candidate.

Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Armishah Siraj got here in second with 11,945 votes, or 17.9 per cent of legitimate votes. Datuk Armishah is a member of the Kampung Kuah Umno department in Langkawi and is accustomed to points on the bottom.

As compared, Dr Mahathir received 54.9 per cent of the 34,527 legitimate votes within the 2018 Normal Election, beating BN’s 29.1 per cent.

Dr Mahathir’s loss comes despite widespread appreciation for his contributions in Langkawi.

He’s broadly revered for bringing prosperity and improvement to the island by declaring it a tax-free haven in 1987, when he was Malaysia’s premier. The transfer drew a slew of tourism investments, together with a world airport, ferry providers and luxurious lodges.

This loss offers a ultimate blow to Dr Mahathir’s Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), which contested a complete of 121 parliamentary seats, 13 of which have been in Kedah.

Kedah, which incorporates Langkawi, can be Dr Mahathir’s residence state.

Voters have been unconvinced by Dr Mahathir’s promise of repairing the nation’s economic system and bringing again international investments and jobs by eradicating corruption inside the authorities and cleansing up some RM42 billion (S$12.7 billion) in nationwide debt racked up by former prime minister Najib Razak.

There have been additionally voters who had grown disenchanted with Dr Mahathir’s management after he resigned as prime minister in 2020 and failed to hand over the reins of government to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as promised.