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At the ripe old age of 97, two-time Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has confirmed that he will contest the upcoming general election.
Mahathir's announcement, made at an Oct. 11 press conference, ended months of speculation over whether he would retire, reported Nikkei Asia.
It will — supposedly — be his last electoral campaign.
"I'm a very nice man"
But while he will defend his seat in Langkawi, his party — Pejuang — will not be putting the elder statesman forward as a candidate for Prime Minister.
The party, along with a loose affiliation of other parties, will make up a coalition called Gerakan Tanah Air, which will be contesting at least 120 seats. However, the coalition has yet to be officially registered.
"We didn’t decide on who will be prime minister because the candidate for that is relevant only if we win. If we lose, it's irrelevant," said Mahathir according to CNA.
"We also decided on the possibility of working with others, parties that are on the same wavelength as us. We are willing to work together if they want to save this country from UMNO’s (United Malays National Organisation) rule," he continued.
Mahathir alleged that if UMNO and its Barisan Nasional Coalition won, they would secure a pardon for former prime minister Najib Razak, currently in jail, and drop charges against party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, currently facing graft-related charges.
The Vibes reported that Mahathir had also left the door open to working with Anwar Ibrahim once again.
"The question should be given to him," he said of his on-and-off-again ally.
"Ask him, will he work with me? The problem is he doesn't want to. I'm a very nice man."
Free Malaysia Today also reported that Mahathir left the question of a possible team-up with Anwar to Anwar.
Indicating the platform he would be campaigning on, Mahathir said his party's candidates would be "clean and not have been involved in any scandals or misdeeds".
"Morally also they are very correct and stick to the rule of law. And respect the system of democracy in the country."
Believes in being active
In an Oct. 7 interview with Nikkei Mahathir had signalled his intentions to join the hustings once more by declaring that he felt well enough to be active.
"I believe in being active," he added.
"If you do nothing and don't think, you will deteriorate physically and mentally."
Top image via Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad/Facebook