Najib Predicts He'll Extend Grip on Power in Malaysia Election
- Prime minister gives first interview to foreign media in years
- Blasts opposition leader Mahathir, his former mentor
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Five years after leading his party to its narrowest victory yet, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak says he’s expecting a “better result” in an election that will pit him against his one-time mentor.
Najib, in his first interview with international media in more than three years, discussed the turbulent period which saw a scandal over a multi-billion dollar state investment fund spawn global probes. He now faces potentially his toughest fight in prolonging his coalition’s six decades in office, in an election that has become highly personal: A contest against the man who helped bring him to power in 2009, and a battle for the hearts of the country’s key voters, ethnic Malays.