KUALA LUMPUR (May 11): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak posted an old, undated photograph of his late father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein with the new Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as he congratulates the latter's return to power.

"No words can adequately describe the journey back to his old office. Malaysia has also defied the odds and global trends with this peaceful transition of power, in line with the will of the people — Malaysia, [a] new icon of democracy," he said in an Instagram post today.

He went on to note that Dr Mahathir has always gone to great lengths to praise his mentor Abdul Razak, "even at the height of tensions with Najib and Umno", referring to Umno president, the former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"Both of them [Dr Mahathir and Abdul Razak] share the same determination to nation-build to the best of their ability and limits of personal sacrifices," Nazir said.

"I wish the new PM and his team every success in building the new Malaysia as envisaged in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto. As I have argued ad nauseam, Malaysia needs major recalibration, but all attempts under the old order failed due to structural rigidities and vested interest. Now you can!" he added.