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Malaysia to Vote May 9 as Najib Faces Former Premier Mahathir

Malaysia to Vote May 9 as Najib Faces Former Premier Mahathir

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysians will cast their vote on May 9 in what will be a showdown between caretaker Prime Minister Najib Razak and Mahathir Mohamad, the nation’s longest-serving premier.

The campaign period will be shortened to 11 days, from 15 days in the 2013 election, with the nomination day for candidates set for April 28, Mohd Hashim Abdullah, chairman at the election commission, told reporters on Tuesday.

At stake is 60 years of unbroken rule by Barisan Nasional coalition, with Najib, 64, at its helm. He seeks to extend his premiership for a third term, after leading his alliance to its worst showing in the previous election, when it lost the popular vote and won control of the parliament by its slimmest-ever margin five years ago. His contender is the 92-year-old Mahathir, who is leading opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan on a campaign anchored on removing Najib.

On Saturday, Najib unveiled a manifesto targeted toward his vote bank: Muslims and ethnic Malays, civil servants, as well as Sabah and Sarawak states. He also promised to double cash transfers for the poor for the remainder of the year and introduced two new categories of recipients.

He pledged that his government would correct its past weaknesses, and that Malaysians would live "peacefully and prosperously" under his administration. This comes after Najib weathered several years of backlash over millions of dollars in political donations and allegations of embezzlement at state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. He has denied wrongdoing.

The opposition is capitalizing on the scandal as well as the people’s concern over rising costs, with a promise to abolish the unpopular goods-and-services tax in its first 100 days in power while maintaining cash transfers.

Mahathir is the opposition’s choice for interim prime minister until its jailed de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is eligible to take over. Pakatan Harapan is seeking a royal pardon for Anwar, with the prison’s director-general saying he is set to be released on June 8. If the bid is successful, Anwar would still need to contest and win in a by-election for a parliamentary seat to be eligible to become the country’s prime minister.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anisah Shukry in Kuala Lumpur at ashukry2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Yudith Ho at yho35@bloomberg.net, Ruth Pollard

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