PAKATAN Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad has never seen stronger Chinese support in his 22-year tenure as prime minister than he has now, the nonagenarian told a Singapore Chinese newspaper in an interview.

“They even shout ‘Long live Tun’ in Chinese. They want to shake hands,” the opposition coalition’s prime ministerial candidate told Shin Min Daily.

Dr Mahathir stepped down as prime minister in 2003, forming the Bersatu party last year to oppose caretaker prime minister Najib Razak whom he accuses of corruption and mismanagement of the economy.

While Chinese voters have given solid support to the opposition in the last two elections, there is a segment that remains wary of Dr Mahathir for his controversial decisions during his rule as prime minister.

These decisions include his stance against Chinese education activist groups, Ops Lalang in 1988, and policies that favoured Bumiputeras in business and tertiary education.

Dr Mahathir also told the paper that PH could win a two-thirds majority in GE14, provided there was no gerrymandering and problems with the electoral roll.

The election will be held under redrawn boundaries that critics say favour the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

He also appealed to Malaysians working and living in Singapore to return home on polling day on May 9 to cast their votes. – May 1, 2018.