Dr Mahathir says he's disappointed with Langkawi voters, felt unappreciated

SHAH ALAM - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad admits he was disappointed for not being chosen by the Langkawi voters in the 15th General Election (GE15), resulting in his first electoral defeat since 1969.

The two-time prime minister said he felt saddened because his efforts in developing Langkawi went unappreciated by the residents of the constituency.

"I did various things for the people of Langkawi. I made (Langkawi) a duty-free island. During the pandemic, I provided food.

“When hit by a tsunami, we helped rebuild houses. We did various things for the people of Langkawi. However, when it comes to elections, they did not vote for me," he said during the Keluar Sekejap podcast with former Umno leaders Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.

Dr Mahathir further argued that his loss in the Langkawi seat was due to the people's preference for receiving cash assistance.

He said he had gone to the ground and asked why they did not vote for him, which they said was because he did not give money.

"That's their answer. I asked again, how much money they received and they answered RM100. I asked, what can you do with RM100, and they said that money can be spent for two days.

“The Malays nowadays prioritise getting RM100 over all the services we have ever provided to them," he said adding that such an attitude made him feel disappointed as a leader.

Dr Mahathir failed to retain his seat in the five-cornered fight in the Langkawi parliamentary constituency, receiving only 4,566 votes.

Perikatan Nasional candidate Datuk Suhaimi Abdullah won the seat with a majority of 13,518 after securing 25,463 votes.