Shah Alam: Malaysia's veteran ex-leader
Mahathir Mohamad was named as the opposition's prime
ministerial candidate today as a bruising election battle
looms against scandal-plagued premier Najib Razak and his
long-ruling coalition.
The decision means the 92-year-old, a hugely divisive
figure criticised for ruling with an iron fist during his long
reign, could return as premier 15 years after stepping down.
People's Justice Party president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail,
Anwar's wife, was named as deputy prime minister candidate.
The coalition will be hoping that Mahathir, who has set
up his own party to take on Najib, will be able to attract
votes of from Muslim Malays, who make up about 60 per cent of
the population.
But most analysts think that the ruling coalition will
win as the system is greatly stacked in their favour, the
economy has performed well recently and the opposition has
often appeared disunited.
Anwar, jailed after being convicted of sodomy, will be
released on June 8, reports said today, but he will be barred
from politics for five years unless granted a royal pardon.