Malaysia's 94-Year-Old Prime Minister Mohamad Says May Stay Beyond 2020

Malaysia's 94-Year-Old Prime Minister Mohamad Says May Stay Beyond 2020

Malaysia's 94-year-old prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, hinted that he might remain in his post beyond the year 2020 to guide the nation into becoming "fully developed" in the next decade.

DOHA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2019) Malaysia's 94-year-old prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, hinted that he might remain in his post beyond the year 2020 to guide the nation into becoming "fully developed" in the next decade.

Mohamad first led Malaysia to a period of rapid development from 1981 to 2003, then returned to the post in 2018 after a major corruption scandal toppled Najib Razak's government.

Speaking to an interviewer at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, Mohamad took every opportunity to distance himself from the previous government and its policies.

"I have promised to step down once I have resolved some of the major problems that have been left by the previous government. I promised that I will step down and give the leadership to a candidate that has been named by the coalition," Mahathir said at the forum after receiving an achievement award.

According to Mohamad, his first tenure as the head of government set its sights on paving the way for the full development of Malaysia by 2020. But Razak's government, which is accused of embezzling up to $1 billion, "took a different course" during its leadership, which is why that target has been moved to 2025-2030.

Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim, leader of Mohamad's Pakatan Harapan coalition, has been widely regarded as the likely successor.

Messages as to whether Ibrahim would indeed succeed Mohamad have been mixed in recent times, especially as Ibrahim has been embroiled in corruption and sexual harassment scandals.