Malaysia: 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad is back as prime minister

He rose like the phoenix and is set to rule his country again. Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, now 92, was sworn in as the prime minister on Thursday, May 10, after the six-decade rule of Barisan Nasional alliance led by the outgoing premier Najib Razak's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) ended in a historic election held on Wednesday, May 9.

Mahathir, who had served as Malaysia's prime minister between 1981 and 2003, joined the opposition to challenge Najib who was in power since 2009. Mahathir's four-party Pakatan Harapan alliance bagged at least 113 of 222 parliamentary seats in the latest election, the country's election commission said.

Mahathir, however, acted as a statesman after the verdict came out, saying his government would not seek a revenge and would focus on restoring rule of law in the country, a Bloomberg report said.

A member of the outgoing prime minister's Cabinet said they would accept the will of the people.

The result of the latest Malaysian election marked a tectonic shift in the country's politics as the first transfer of power happened since independence in 1957.