Mahathir Mohamad, who pulled off a stunning general election win, will not be sworn in as the new prime minister of Malaysia on Thursday, a spokesman for the King’s palace said, but gave no reason for the change in schedule. Mahathir had said shortly after declaring victory that the King would sign his letter of appointment as prime minister of Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy during a ceremony at the royal palace in the capital, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. But palace authorities said there would be no such event and a spokesman for Mahathir, the 92-yer-old veteran former prime minister, said he had not heard from the palace and had no plan to go there. Malaysians celebrated Mahathir’s unexpected victory over Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose popularity had plunged over rising living costs and in the wake of a multi-billion-dollar graft scandal at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). “We are not seeking revenge … what we want is to restore the rule of law,” Mahathir said of Najib’s scandal-plagued rule.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 10, 2018 03:11 UTC