A “PEOPLES’ TSUNAMI” has swept 92-year-old former premier Mahathir Mohamad back to power, fuelling hope that the world’s oldest leader will bring positive change to Malaysia and the region.

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan – the Alliance of Hope – won 113 of the 222 seats contested, while his protege-turned-enemy Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional (BN) trailed with 79 seats in Malaysia’s 14th general election, which was held on Wednesday. The shock victory brings to an end six decades of rule by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) coalition that began after independence from Britain in 1957.

“Yes, yes, I am still alive,” Mahathir told a news conference in the early hours yesterday after learning of his victory. The former strongman had built a campaign around claims of corruption against Najib.

“I am not seeking revenge, we don’t want to punish people but the rule of law will be clearly implemented,” said Mahathir. “If Najib has done something wrong, then he will have to pay the price.”

Speaking to a packed room at Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya, Mahathir, added that those who broke the law, including journalists, “will be brought before the court to be tried”, reported Malaysiakini.

In his first public comments after the results, Najib – looking shattered after the shock loss – told a press conference: “I accept the verdict of the people and BN is committed to the principles of democracy.”

Observers in Malaysia told The Nation it was Najib’s involvement in the scandal around the 1MDB state-development fund that had led to his defeat, since Malaysian people were angry with an administration perceived as corrupt.

Najib is accused of presiding over the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB and has responded with strident denials – and increasing repression. The 64-year-old British-educated Najib is the son of Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysia’s second premier and founder of UMNO’s long-time coalition, BN. While in power, Najib quashed 1MDB investigations, but Mahathir has said Pakatan Harapan would restore “rule of law”.

1MDB probes “will probably be reopened and it is important that this be done in a fair and judicious way so that Malaysia can come to terms and move beyond the scandal,” Southeast Asia politics analyst Bridget Welsh told Bloomberg.

Supporters of Mahathir Mohamad celebrates in Kuala Lumpur /AFP PHOTO 

A delicate touch likewise is needed to clean up “systemic problems of corruption and rot and kleptocracy”, she added.

The poll win capped a dramatic comeback for Mahathir, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 22 years. Mohamad Azlan Shah, a member of Mahathir’s party in the crowd, said he was “very proud”.

“Our struggle to change Malaysian politics is not wasted. We believe Mahathir can make a change,” he told AFP.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Mahathir’s comeback has been his reconciliation with jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, his former nemesis, a relationship that has loomed large over the Malaysian political landscape for decades. Anwar was Mahathir’s heir apparent until the premier sacked him in 1998 over political differences, and he was subsequently jailed on charges of sodomy and abuse of power that were widely seen as trumped-up.

Anwar was jailed again during Najib’s rule but he is due for release in June – and Mahathir has promised to secure him a royal pardon, allowing him to run for office again and potentially become prime minister.

Outgoing Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak of the Barisan National party gestures as he arrives to address the media at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur/ AFP PHOTO 

Mahathir, whose 1981-2003 tenure as UMNO leader and premier is often credited with creating a modern Malaysia, but also tarnished by the jailing of opponents and entrenchment of the political dominance of Muslim Malays, the country’s majority group, over the sizeable Chinese and Indian minorities.

Just a few years ago, then-retired Mahathir had chastised his former protege Najib for loosening the reins with political liberalisation moves, which Mahathir warned would lead to chaos. Those reforms were later nullified as Najib tightened the screws over 1MDB.

Ever the opportunist, Mahathir now rails against the system he helped create and has promised reforms such as leadership term limits and scrapping an unpopular sales tax imposed by Najib. Malaysiakini called the vote a reminder that politicians are elected to serve the people “and not lord over them”.

“It would be wise for the incoming government to remember this.”

UMNO’s Malay bloc has waged a caustic battle against a diverse opposition alliance that reflects the tropical country’s multicultural make-up, yet is prone to internal divisions of its own.

Any incoming administration faces the daunting task of wresting control of a government bureaucracy steeped in UMNO’s ways, plus the thorny issue of enshrined policies that favour Malays in politics, employment, and other areas.

Mahathir, a key architect of that system while premier, is now a bedfellow with a coalition infused with impatient Chinese and Indian constituencies.

Supporters ofMahathir Mohamad take a selfie in front of the Royal Palace in Kuala Lumpur/EPA-EFE

Read : It’s official, Dr M is Malaysia’s seventh PM… and the world’s oldest

“The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th,” Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday (May 10).

“We will both try to make it a very special.

“The swearing-in ceremony for the Prime Minister position is expected to take place 9.30pm tonight, – Istana Negara Officer” the tweet read.

In a later tweet, Bernama said that four Pakatan Harapan leaders completed their audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at 6.48pm.

Dr Mahathir arrived at Istana Negara at 4.40pm Thursday (May 10), where he is having an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V.

This means that Dr Mahathir will be the world’s oldest prime minister and the first Malaysian to be premier twice.

Dr Mahathir was the previous prime minister from 1981 to 2003, the longest-serving premier in Malaysian history.

Media and supporters have been camping at one of Istana Negara’s gates since 3pm. Dr Mahathir arrived at 4.40pm.

He was accompanied by Muhyiddin Yassin and other Pakatan Harapan leaders. The swearing-in is expected to take place at 5pm.

Vet Calvin Cheah, 34, was waiting with four family members and friends, bringing along the Malaysian and Keadilan flag.

“I think this is the moment every Malaysian is eager to see. I wanted to witness history being made,” he said.

Oil and gas technician R. Ramachandran, 51, was there to show his support for Dr Mahathir. “There is a change and I want to celebrate it,” he said while waving a big PKR flag.

There was a rush of anticipation every time a vehicle went in and out of Gate 2 of the Istana.

Election Commission vehicles could also be seen exiting the gates of the palace. Gates 1 and 3 were closed off to the public. There was also a heavy police presence at the area

The victory of Mahathir, 92, is considered a political earthquake that toppled the country’s scandal-plagued premier and ousted a regime that had ruled for over six decades.

While the Thai government has apparently not expressed its felicitations to Mahathir, former PM Thaksin, who is wanted on criminal charges in Thailand, was quick to express his best wishes in a series of @ThaksinLive tweets.

“My sincere congratulations to Dr Mahathir Mohamed on his spectacular comeback. The  people have spoken loud and clear that they not only remember his outstanding legacy but need his leadership,” he wrote.

He misspelled Dr Mahathir’s family name, spelling it Mohamed instead of Mohamad. The mistake appeared in his statements on his Facebook wall “Thaksin Shinawatra”.

“From my experience of working closely with him, I am confident that he will lead the Alliance of Hope and Malaysia into a successful future,” he wrote.

“His leadership will undoubtedly reinvigorate Asean as well as the ideas and visions he helped shape. I am certain that all the Thai people share my sentiment and respect towards him.”

Thaksin also posted a photo of him shaking hands with Mahathir during an Apec Summit in Bangkok in 2003. His statements in twitter and Facebook were in both Thai and English.

    Trump, who is preparing for a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, greeted the men at Joint Base Andrews in the middle of the night.

He and First Lady Melania boarded the light blue and white government plane shortly after it touched down to meet privately with the men.

The release by Kim, a much needed diplomatic win for Trump, was a stepping stone to his historic  upcoming meeting with the North Korean leader.//AFP

False and misleading news was among the chief topics at the 14th meeting of the Asean Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI) on Thursday.

The ministers issued a Declaration on a Framework to Minimise the Harmful Effects of Fake News.

At the meeting, which had “Inclusive and Informed Digital Asean” as its theme, the ministers also agreed that member-countries should work together to improve digital literacy, encourage relevant agencies to develop guidelines for responding to fake news, and share “best practices”.

They set out four “broad strategies” for members to use in addressing online falsehoods – education and awareness, detection and response, norms and guidelines, and community and “ground-up” participation.

These can be tailored to the unique circumstances of each country in terms of laws and regulations, it was agreed.

The ministers stated that mitigating the harmful effects of fake news was “everyone’s responsibility”.

Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said the framework would improve regional cooperation in establishing “a trusted digital ecosystem where people will be guaranteed access to reliable sources of information”.

Singapore’s Minister for information and Communications, S Iswaran, said the meeting would nurture “a digitally ready Asean” and “fuel digital growth” in the region.

“Members must work closely together to promote socially responsible online behaviour,” he said, “to ensure that the digital space remains one that is safe, reliable and conducive for everyone to interact with one another freely and with confidence.”

Fake news emerged as a concern at an AMRI roundtable discussion last year. Singapore has planned a workshop at the current meeting on best practices and countermeasures.

Several Asean members have already taken steps towards curbing the negative effects of fake news.

Earlier this year, Malaysia turned its fact-checking portal Sebenarnya.my into a mobile-phone application. Citizens can check the authenticity of news and submit queries regarding unverified information.

Masyarakat Anti Fitnah Indonesia, a civic group, set up a Facebook page where people can report and discuss suspected falsehoods. It has six full-time fact-checkers and a search engine listing legitimate news sites.

Heng said Singapore convened a parliamentary select committee earlier this year to investigate deliberate online falsehoods. “The committee held public hearings to seek views from various sectors on practical solutions to address fake news and is currently putting together its recommendations,” he said.

Heng noted that the World Economic Forum has identified “misinformation going viral online” as one of the biggest threats to society. Asean is not immune, he said.

The ministers also approved a set of Core Values on Digital Literacy as a starting point for further discussion aimed at helping citizens “navigate the digital media landscape safely and responsibly”.

Also endorsed was a Framework for Co-production in the Audio-Visual Sector to improve content producers’ skills in production techniques.

The Digital Terrestrial Television broadcasting system (DVB-T2) and Integrated Receiver Decoder Technical Specifications will be revised to ensure mobile and portable DVB-T2 receivers meet minimum standards.

The system allows people to watch free-to-air channels on their portable devices via terrestrial transmission. Government messages can be transmitted while people are on the move.

“I accept the verdict of the people,” the leader, who looked shattered after his coalition’s defeat, said. But he added that because no single party got a majority in parliament, it was up to the king to decide who will become prime minister.

Mahathir’s opposition won 121 seats, if a small ally from Sabah state is included. There are 222 seats in parliament and a majority is needed to form a government.

The veteran ex-leader, who led the country with an iron first for over two decades, stormed to a shock victory at the hard-fought election early Thursday, beating Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that has been in charge for over six decades.

The 92-year-old leader has stepped into a special place in Malaysian history, making a comeback to the job he left 15 years ago.

The Election Commission (EC) has yet to confirm the results at press time but Pakatan is claiming a simple parliamentary majority of 112 seats.

Speaking at a packed press conference at the Sheraton Hotel, Dr Mahathir also claimed that Kedah, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Melaka, apart from Penang and Selangor, had fallen to Pakatan, bringing an end to the 61-year rule of Barisan Nasional.

“It was a total Malay earthquake that has changed the political landscape of the country,” said Merdeka Centre CEO Ibrahim Suffian.

For months, surveys and polls had shown an unusually high percentage of Malays who were undecided about who to support in the general election.

Many were puzzled and could not figure out what it meant.

The Chinese voters, on the other hand, had been clear from the start that they were still against Barisan, especially Umno, and everyone could see that it was going to be another Chinese tsunami.

On May 9, the Malays decided to go for change and their combined force brought down the ruling coalition led by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Asked what Malaysia could expect from the shocking outcome, Ibrahim said: “It is a new day. People have to be prepared for new things such as the first woman deputy prime minister. They have to face the changes and be participators in the change.”

Ibrahim said two factors led to the result of GE14, the first being economic issues, especially the GST that exacerbates the cost of living pressures of many Malaysians.

Barisan thought that opposition to the 6% Goods and Services Tax implemented in 2015 had settled down but it came boiling to the surface again during the campaign period and especially after Pakatan promised to abolish the tax if it won.

That captured the imagination and support of many ordinary people.

The second factor, said Ibrahim, was the 1MDB issue that clung on to Najib despite numerous explanations.

It was a complicated issue that most people could not grasp but over the last one year, Dr Mahathir simplified it in a few choice words – kleptocracy, robber, thief – and it all seemed to come together for him and his newfound friends in the Opposition.

At press time, the EC had yet to confirm the election results as claimed by Pakatan and EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah appealed for the public to be patient for his officers to put together the results of the 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats contested.

Pakatan ceramahs had drawn big crowds but the ground was relatively quiet compared to the heightened air of the 2013 general election.

In fact, the ground was so misleadingly quiet that Barisan was claiming that it could secure as many as 140 seats while Pakatan was the one that had seemed unsure of victory.

As such, it is quite likely that Pakatan was more shocked at winning than Barisan was at losing.

Malaysia is in uncharted territory should the EC confirm Pakatan’s claims on the elections result.

The concern among many Malaysians now is that there should be a peaceful transition of power once the EC is able to confirm the results of GE14.

image: https://content.thestar.com.my/smg/settag/name=lotame/ta

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/analysis/2018/05/10/the-night-the-earth-moved-as-predicted-by-dr-mahathir-the-malay-tsunami-has-taken-place-in-ge14/#bySaAq6rmAaBS88w.99

image: https://content.thestar.com.my/smg/settag/name=lotame/tags=

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/analysis/2018/05/10/the-night-the-earth-moved-as-predicted-by-dr-mahathir-the-malay-tsunami-has-taken-place-in-ge14/#bySaAq6rmAaBS88w.99

The 92-year-old leader has stepped into a special place in Malaysian history, making a comeback to the job he left 15 years ago.

The Election Commission (EC) has yet to confirm the results at press time but Pakatan is claiming a simple parliamentary majority of 112 seats.

Speaking at a packed press conference at the Sheraton Hotel, Dr Mahathir also claimed that Kedah, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Melaka, apart from Penang and Selangor, had fallen to Pakatan, bringing an end to the 61-year rule of Barisan Nasional.

For months, surveys and polls had shown an unusually high percentage of Malays who were undecided about who to support in the general election.

Many were puzzled and could not figure out what it meant.

The Chinese voters, on the other hand, had been clear from the start that they were still against Barisan, especially Umno, and everyone could see that it was going to be another Chinese tsunami.

On May 9, the Malays decided to go for change and their combined force brought down the ruling coalition led by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Asked what Malaysia could expect from the shocking outcome, Ibrahim said: “It is a new day. People have to be prepared for new things such as the first woman deputy prime minister. They have to face the changes and be participators in the change.”

Ibrahim said two factors led to the result of GE14, the first being economic issues, especially the GST that exacerbates the cost of living pressures of many Malaysians.

Barisan thought that opposition to the 6% Goods and Services Tax implemented in 2015 had settled down but it came boiling to the surface again during the campaign period and especially after Pakatan promised to abolish the tax if it won.

That captured the imagination and support of many ordinary people.

The second factor, said Ibrahim, was the 1MDB issue that clung on to Najib despite numerous explanations.

It was a complicated issue that most people could not grasp but over the last one year, Dr Mahathir simplified it in a few choice words – kleptocracy, robber, thief – and it all seemed to come together for him and his newfound friends in the Opposition.

At press time, the EC had yet to confirm the election results as claimed by Pakatan and EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah appealed for the public to be patient for his officers to put together the results of the 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats contested.

Pakatan ceramahs had drawn big crowds but the ground was relatively quiet compared to the heightened air of the 2013 general election.

In fact, the ground was so misleadingly quiet that Barisan was claiming that it could secure as many as 140 seats while Pakatan was the one that had seemed unsure of victory.

As such, it is quite likely that Pakatan was more shocked at winning than Barisan was at losing.

Malaysia is in uncharted territory should the EC confirm Pakatan’s claims on the elections result.

The concern among many Malaysians now is that there should be a peaceful transition of power once the EC is able to confirm the results of GE14.