KUALA LUMPUR, 11 May (BelTA - Xinhua) - Mahathir Mohamad, 92, a former Malaysian prime minister who led the opposition to achieve a stunning victory in the general election, took the oath of office on Thursday night, becoming the world's oldest government leader.
Mahathir won the election after his coalition Pakatan Harapan secured 113 seats out of the 222 seats at the parliament's lower house, unseating the Barisna Nasional coalition, which has run the country for more than 60 years and of which Mahathir used to serve as the chairman.
In his first press conference as the new prime minister, Mahathir said that even he himself did not anticipate the surprising election results. He thanked the Malaysian people for their support.