LANGKAWI (April 28): Party flags, banners and chants of ‘reformasi’, ‘Pakatan Harapan’ and ‘Hidup Tun’ accompanied former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed as he stepped into the nomination centre, marking his entry into the election battlefield after retiring from politics 14 years ago.

He filed his nomination papers about 9am which kickstarted his contest for the Langkawi parliamentary seat under the Pakatan Harapan ticket in the 14th general election.

The nonagenarian Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman arrived with his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, his children Marina and Tan Sri Mokhzani, lawyer Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla, and party supporters at the island’s District and Land Office in Kuah.

Mahathir, a seven-term Kubang Pasu parliamentarian till his retirement, faces incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN) Datuk Nawawi Ahmad, and PAS candidate Zubir Ahmad, who is Langkawi division chief.

Nawawi polled 21,407 votes, beating PKR’s Ahmad Abdullah, who garnered 9,546 votes, by a majority of 11,861 votes, in 2013.

Despite requests for comments Mahathir simply smiled and waved as pressmen surrounded for pictures. A minor scuffle happened as Mahathir’s security officers stopped the media from approaching him.

The Langkawi constituency which has two state seats - Ayer Hangat and Kuah, has 42,697 registered voters, of which 90.37% are Malays, 6.51% are Chinese, Indians (2.4%), and 0.72% made up of Bumiputera Sabah, Sarawak and others.

The Ayer Hangat and Kuah seats are contested by PH candidates Juhari Bulat and Mohd Firdaus Ahmad, respectively, who will face off with incumbents Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid and Nor Saidi Nanyan from BN. Together, the candidates will vie for the seats with PAS’ Azlina Azinan (Ayer Hangat) and Mazlan Ahmad (Kuah), and independent 42-years-old Mohamad Ratu Mansor (Kuah) using the tree as his logo.

Party supporters sang songs while holding up flags and banners just outside the barricades put up by police who cordoned off 300 metres on both ends of the road leading to the centre.

Mahathir and his opponents shook hands and waved at their supporters as they walked into the centre.