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Jailed Malaysian opposition leader urges voters to elect Mahathir

Tuesday, 08 May 2018 10:04 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 08 May 2018 10:10 AM ]

Former Malaysian prime minister and candidate for the opposition Alliance of Hope Mahathir Mohamad speaks during an election campaign rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 6, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

Jailed Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has called on voters to pick his one-time arch enemy, Mahathir Mohamad, on the eve of the country’s most hotly contested general elections.

Anwar and Mahathir agreed in 2016 to join forces with the aim of ousting scandal-hit Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Barisan Nasional (BN) alliance.

“I urge you all to join the people’s movement to demand change,” Anwar said in a statement late on Monday from a hospital in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, where he underwent a shoulder surgery.

The alliance between Mahathir and Anwar came after years of feud as the latter was first jailed after Mahathir dismissed him as deputy prime minister in 1998.

The 70-year-old Anwar is still serving a five-year jail term after he was found guilty on a sodomy charge in 2015. He and his supporters say the charge was politically motivated. He is expected to be released early on June 8.

Anwar described his partnership with Mahathir as the ruling party’s “biggest worry.”

But Najib said in an interview on pro-government television late on Monday that he was confident of winning the vote.

“Our political base is still strong and intact. That is why I am confident, because we actually have strength,” said Najib.

The prime minister, whose popularity has taken a hit from a massive scandal at a state fund and public anger over rising living costs, will see his five-year term officially end on June 24.

The supporters of Malaysia’s opposition Alliance of Hope attend an election campaign rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 6, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

In the election run-up, opposition leaders and civil society groups have complained that measures like gerrymandering have tilted the poll in the ruling party’s favor.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, SUHAKAM, on Tuesday called on the election panel to avoid actions seen as partisan and selective.

“SUHAKAM believes the level playing-field is affected with instances of questionable disqualification of candidates and money and gifts being distributed,” it said in a statement.

Malaysia’s Election Commission (EC) has set May 9 as the date for the country’s general elections.

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