We’re sure many of you remember the awesome Singdollar to Malaysian ringgit exchange rates late last year.
The favourable exchange rates roughly coincided with the time that Malaysia was holding its 2022 general elections.
And as the political savvy or woke readers you are, we’re sure you’re all well-aware that the 2022 Malaysia general elections yielded unprecedented results, with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad losing his parliamentary seat in Langkawi.
Dr Mahathir has recently opened up about his thoughts regarding the loss but it’s not promising.
Dr Mahathir lost in Malaysia’s 2022 General Election
The reason it’s not promising is because…Dr Mahathir has provided no reason for his loss.
Dr Mahathir is allegedly clueless about why he was voted out of Langkawi in Kedah despite his long-labouring efforts for the island. He does “not know what [he] did wrong”.
He cites his long-time efforts for Langkawi and says that the results were “a little upsetting” though he’s “not sulking” about the lack of voter support.
To recap, Dr Mahathir lost approximately 14,000 votes at the elections and his 4,566 votes from supporters were unfortunately insufficient to meet the threshold for him to retain his deposit required for him to run in the elections.
In comparison, rival political party Perikatan Nasional’s Suhaimi Abdullar won the electorate’s favour, securing 25,463 votes. This is more than five times the number of votes Dr Mahathir garnered.
This ungraceful defeat was the former Malaysian Prime Minister’s first defeat in the general elections since 1969.
Dr Mahathir’s loss of his Langkawi seat also added to his party Parti Pejuang Tanah Air’s overall defeat in the elections. Parti Pejuang Tanah Air suffered a staggering defeat, losing all 121 parliamentary seats it contested across Malaysia.
Dr Mahathir’s Plans to Write History
Well, although Dr Mahathir is no longer in parliament, it doesn’t mean that he’s sitting idle.
Who said he can’t continue to write history?
And yes, we mean that literally.
Although Dr Mahathir will no longer be the driver of Malaysia’s politics and policies, he has stated post-election defeat that he plans to spend his time writing about his country’s history.
In particular, he highlights that “many events that happened in the country have not been recorded, including what happened in the British era” and he’s “open to being interviewed by the writer”.
Sounds promising and we’re sure that Dr Mahathir has much to say after accumulating almost a century’s worth of life experiences with a large chunk of that dedicated to Malaysia’s political scene.
P.S. Dr Mahathir may also want to consider a side gig as a motivational life coach advocating for a late-life career change.
Featured Image: Facebook (@MariaAya)