Malaysia’s veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad, 97, lost the race for a parliamentary seat in the country’s general election, his first defeat in 53 years. Mahathir, who served as Malaysia’s prime minister for more than two decades in two stints, came in fourth in a five-cornered fight in the Langkawi island constituency
The seat was won by Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah, a candidate from the Perikatan alliance, which is led by another former prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin.
It was Mahathir’s first election loss since 1969.
Mahathir leads a coalition that has vowed to take down the incumbent Barisan Nasional government over corruption allegations.
