On April 15, Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced which seat he will be contesting in GE14.

In front of a crowd in a field near Langkawi International Airport, Mahathir revealed that he would be running in -- you guessed it -- Langkawi.

Langkawi cool

First, some quick facts. Langkawi District is a bunch of islands located about 30km off the coast of the northern state of Kedah.

The largest of these is Langkawi Island, with Kuah town as the district capital.

Langkawi's economy used to be agriculture-based, with locals cultivating rubber, rice and fish, but in the past few decades it has gained international fame as a tourist attraction.

Here are the reasons why we think Mahathir chose this constituency to compete in for a seat in the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House of Parliament), in his bid to become Prime Minister again.

1. Hometown hero

Mahathir is a Kedah boy. He was born in the state capital of Alor Setar. His mother Wan Tempawan binti Wan Hanafi has deep roots in the state, a distant relative of Kedah royalty.

Throughout his long political career, he has represented Kedah constituencies in Parliament.

It makes sense that Mahathir would choose to compete in a constituency in his home state.

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2. Close by

During the later part of his political career, including the time he spent as Prime Minister, Mahathir represented the Kedah constituency of Kubang Pasu for 30 years.

If you look at the map, Kubang Pasu is really close to Langkawi, in geographical terms.

Perhaps Mahathir is counting on the fact that the proximity will help the voters of Langkawi to remember him fondly.

3. Development

But Langkawi is not Kubang Pasu. You might be asking yourself why Mahathir didn't compete in the same constituency he represented for three decades.

The answer might lie in the fact that Langkawi is itself a testament to Mahathir's record as Prime Minister.

From early on, Mahathir has had a special relationship with the island. After completing his medical training, Mahathir was posted to a clinic in Langkawi.

Back then, it was an (ahem) small fishing village, with hardly any modern developments.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (opposition People's Justice Party) Chief for Kedah Azman Ismail said to The Malaysian Insight:

"He was the first doctor to be stationed on the island at a government clinic. Dr Mahathir was the first one to see Langkawi and how barren it was then.

It was his love for Langkawi that prompted him to develop the area after he became prime minister. The island is a special place for him."

In 1987, after Mahathir became Prime Minister, he declared the island a duty-free zone and started the Langkawi Development Board.

The Kuah Jetty and Langkawi International Airport (where he held his rally) were also built during his tenure, and several different international events were held in Langkawi to attract visitors.

It seems to have worked. In 2017, more than 2.3 million tourists visited Langkawi.

4. "Vulnerable" candidate?

Let's take a look at Mahathir's likely opponent for Langkawi.

It's currently represented by the Barisan Nasional politician Nawawi Ahmad, a guy who's been caught up in a couple of controversies in the past.

In 2014, he caused an uproar after the death of veteran opposition politician, Karpal Singh, who was killed in a car accident.

Just hours after Singh died, Nawawi's Facebook page was uploaded with pictures of Singh's body and the accident scene.

Nawawi said that "several people" administered his social media account, but accepted "full responsibility" for the post. He said:

"I deeply regret for what has happened. I am so sorry. I know I hurt the feelings of many and I feel terrible about it. I promise to myself to be more cautious and careful on my future postings on my Facebook."

And in 2016, he was again caught up in a social media controversy when he argued with Facebook users over where MPs salaries came from. Said Nawawi:

"The salaries of MPs are not paid by the people but the government and the government's money is not the people's money."

Perhaps Nawawi's gaffes could be attributed to his relative inexperience.

Langkawi is his first seat in the Dewan Rakyat, having won his election in 2013.

Previously, Nawawi served as a member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly for Kuah, so he's not unfamiliar to the voters of Langkawi.

But on the national stage, maybe Mahathir feels like he has the upper hand.

It all comes down to who gets the most votes on May 9.

Top image from Mahathir Mohamad's Facebook page.