Malaysian former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (C), who is leading the opposition alliance, attends a press conference in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, May 10, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
Malaysians ? at least those who hadn’t stayed up to wait for the results ? woke up on Thursday to earth-shattering news. Against all odds, the opposition Pakatan Harapan had won the general election, ousting the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition after more than 60 years in power.
This now sets the stage for Malaysia’s first change in government since independence in 1957.
And at its head will be a well-known figure: former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
A series of firsts
After hours of waiting, election results were finally announced around 3:00 a.m. local time (2000 GMT on Wednesday) ? opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) had won 113 seats, giving it a simple majority in the 222-seat parliament.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional (BN) won 79 seats, while the rest went to a smattering of smaller parties.
The historic result surprised even analysts, most of whom had predicted another win for BN.
This marks the end of BN rule after six decades in power, and comments on social media reflected the feeling that Malaysia was entering a new era.
“New day. New hope. New beginning,” said Twitter user @daniaazmi95.
In another first, Mahathir looks set to become the world’s oldest prime minister at age 92.
Mahathir vs. Najib
Before polling stations even opened, Wednesday’s election was already being touted as the fiercest political battle in Malaysian history, pitting Najib ? plagued by accusations of corruption and gerrymandering ? against his former mentor Mahathir, making a political comeback at the head of the opposition.
With these two political veterans going head-to-head, all eyes were on how majority ethnic Malay voters would behave: would these traditional BN supporters stand by the coalition or throw in their lot with Mahathir, a former BN prime minister?
Voter turnout was also seen as crucial, with low participation likely to favor the incumbent government.
The fall of BN
After seeing its support drop drastically over the last two elections, BN was under pressure to do better this time around.
In 2008, it lost its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time. In 2013, it won less than 50 percent of the vote, although under Malaysia’s first-past-the-post system, it still secured a simple majority in parliament.
Ahead of Wednesday's vote, the government approved redesigned electoral boundaries and passed new election rules, prompting accusations that BN was trying to skew the vote in its favor.
Meanwhile, Najib has been battling a scandal involving state development fund 1MDB, from which billions of US dollars were allegedly siphoned off.
As results started trickling in on Wednesday evening, news of cabinet ministers losing their constituencies and of opposition gains in crucial states hinted at what almost nobody could have believed hours before ? BN might actually lose this election.
On Thursday, the front page headline of the Malay-language Sinar Harian daily summarized the momentous event in three words: "The People's Tsunami."
At a press conference later, Najib defended his record in office but acknowledged defeat.
“I accept the verdict of the people,” he told reporters.
