AFTER keeping mum since the general election on Saturday, Dr Mahathir Mohamad today issued a statement urging the winning party to form a federal government and solve the country’s problems. 

The Pejuang chairman admitted that he was saddened by his party’s defeat in all 125 seats contested, but accepted the people’s choice. 

“As Pejuang lost in all 125 constituencies, the party could not even be the opposition in parliament (Dewan Rakyat). All the plans Pejuang had for the country had to be dropped. 

“What Pejuang can do is to look at the direction of the government of the winning party,” he said in a statement posted on his Facebook page today. 

Dr Mahathir failed to defend his Langkawi seat. The seat was won by Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah, with 13,518 votes. 

The country’s two-time prime minister said he will now focus on writing about the history and activities of the country. 

“Many events that happened in this country have not been recorded, including events in the British era. I am also open to being interviewed by writers,” he said. 

The results of the polls on Saturday saw a hung parliament when no coalition managed to obtain a simple majority to form a government. 

In the election, Pakatan Harapan won 82 seats, PN won 73 seats, Barisan Nasional won 30, Gabungan Parti Sarawak won 23, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah won six, Warisan won three, and Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA-Pejuang), in its debut, failed to win any seat. 

The elections for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat and Tioman state seat will be held simultaneously, with new candidate nominations tomorrow and voting on December 7. – Bernama, November 23, 2022.