KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s cooperation with Pakatan Harapan in defeating Barisan National in the 14th General Election (GE14) received widespread coverage from international media.
A Taiwan and Hong Kong based news agency ‘The News Lens’ described Mahathir’s feat as a ‘Deja-vu’ and that he was a huge factor in helping PH form the federal government, as well as in winning more states.
According to the report, GE14 was the most competitive election in the Malaysian history.
PH needed over 112 parliamentary seats to form the government through a simple majority, defeating Barisan Nasional (BN) which was chaired by Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The victory ended the six-decade administration of BN government, paving way for the country’s first power transition since gaining independence more than 60 years ago.
Dr Mahathir, who was the longest serving Prime Minister of Malaysia, came out of retirement and opposed the party he once led to become the prime minister again.
Vietnam-based e.vnexpress.net described the victory as ‘people’s tsunami’ to overthrow the ruling party for more than six decades. It said Mahathir would be the oldest prime minister in the world when sworn in.
Myanmar International TV reports that Dr Mahathir has succeeded in overthrowing the regime which was affected by multiple scandal allegations, thereby returning as the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The Paris-based portal www.france24.com reports that nobody expected the outcome of the GE14.
It wrote that PH’s victory saw the dramatic return of Dr Mahathir, who had previously ruled Malaysia for 22 years and returned from retirement.
The New York Times on their website reported that Malaysia’s ruling party was toppled for the first time in the 60-year history of Malaysia.