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Malaysia to have 92-year-old leader

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Oldest Leader - Level 4

Malaysia's ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, has ended the six-decade rule of the BN party. He will soon become Malaysia's next prime minister and the world's oldest elected leader. He was Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003 as leader of the BN, which came to power in 1957 after Malaysia's independence. He helped Malaysia become an "Asian tiger". However, he was accused of being too strong and of putting his opponents in jail.

Mahathir's party won 113 seats. This is enough for a majority in Malaysia's parliament. Mahathir ended his retirement to join the opposition party. It was a tough election race. He beat Najib Razak, who was accused of corruption in a financial scandal. Mahathir wants to put Malaysia back on track and "restore the rule of law". He joked that his new cabinet would be, "a gathering of men and women, including a young person".

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Oldest Leader - Level 5

Malaysia's ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad made a remarkable political comeback to end the six-decade rule of the BN party. Mr Mahathir, 92, will soon be sworn in as Malaysia's next prime minister. He will be the world's oldest elected leader. Mahathir was Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003. Then, he was leader of the BN party, which came to power in 1957 after Malaysia's independence from Britain. He helped his country's economic success and made Malaysia an "Asian tiger". However, he was accused of being too strong and of using security laws to put his opponents in jail.

Official results show Mahathir's party won 113 seats. This will form a simple majority in Malaysia's 222-seat parliament. Mahathir came out of retirement to join the opposition party. It was a bitterly-contested election race. He beat his former protégé Najib Razak. Mr Najib was accused of corruption in a multi-billion-dollar scandal. Mahathir said he wanted to put Malaysia back on the right track and "restore the rule of law." When reporters asked about his age, he joked that his new cabinet would be, "a gathering of men and women, including a young person".

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Oldest Leader - Level 6

Malaysia's former leader Mahathir Mohamad has staged a remarkable political comeback to end the six-decade rule of the Barisan Nasional (BN) party. It is still unclear when Mr Mahathir, 92, will be sworn in as Malaysia's next prime minister. When he assumes power, he will be the world's oldest elected leader. Mahathir was Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003. At that time, he was leader of the BN party, which came to power in 1957 after Malaysia gained independence from British colonial rule. He was instrumental in his country's economic success and in making Malaysia an "Asian tiger". He was also accused of being an authoritarian leader who used security laws to imprison his opponents.

Official polling results show Mahathir's Pakatan Harapan party has won 113 seats. This is sufficient to form a simple majority in the country's 222-seat parliament. Mahathir came out of retirement and joined the opposition party. In an often bitterly-contested election race, he defeated his former protégé Najib Razak. Mr Najib had been beset by allegations of corruption and a multi-billion dollar financial scandal. Mahathir told reporters that he wanted to put Malaysia back on the right track. He said: "What we want to do is to restore the rule of law." When reporters asked about his advancing years, he joked about age. He said his new cabinet would be, "a gathering of men and women, including a young person".

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson



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