When is malaysian general election 2018

For the most part however, foreign policy as a subject has largely been a domain of the few — policymakers, diplomats, academics and other practitioners. The 1MDB saga itself was a major part of the campaign against the Najib and his ruling party.

Various local investigations into the scandal had cleared him of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the financial irregularities of 1MDB continued to be investigated by authorities in seven countries — including the United States.

Another major foreign policy factor was the nature of the Malaysia-China relationship, and perceived notions of the influence that the latter has over the former. It became part and parcel of the campaign against Najib and his party.

A key driver here was the rapid and staggering rise of investment and acquisitions by Chinese companies — both private and state-linked — in Malaysia. Foreign direct investment from China, which stood at RM4. It now encompasses diverse sectors like construction, real estate, manufacturing, ports and power generation facilities. Mahathir's victory is all the more remarkable considering he is 92 years old, and was fighting the very party he led for over two decades.

His narcissism cost them the elections," she said, of a Barisan Nasional campaign that featured Najib and his election promises as a centrepiece. Welsh added Najib's re-election campaign never really took off. Former Malaysian prime minister and opposition candidate Mahathir Mohamad center celebrates with his coalition leaders during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on early May 10, James Chin, the director at the Asia Institute in the University of Tasmania, said Najib had "finally run out of tricks" and said Mahathir had pulled off a masterstroke in snatching the rural vote away from Najib.

He compared the campaign speeches given by the two men on Tuesday night, hours before voting began. Mahathir, on the other hand, came across as a statesman and appealed to Malay dignity," he said. Chin called out two things that helped turn the tide against Najib -- a high voter turnout and the swing in rural support. And so the Najib brand became toxic," he said. Supporters of former Malaysian prime minister and opposition candidate Mahathir Mohamad celebrate in Kuala Lumpur on early May 10, Comeback for Anwar?

One of the twists of the election came in the form of Mahathir's embrace of Anwar Ibrahim, his former deputy and later political foe, whom he once jailed on sodomy and corruption charges critics said were politically motivated. Anwar remains imprisoned after being found guilty of sodomy a second time in -- a charge he has also said is politically motivated.

He's expected to be released in June, after serving the bulk of the sentence. Prior to the election Mahathir pledged he would step aside for Anwar, after securing him a royal pardon. Mahathir has pledged only to serve two years before handing over to his former rival.

Calling it an "unprecedented" alliance in Malaysian politics, Welsh told CNN before the election the two former political enemies had "not only a strategic alliance but one based on an idea of statesmanship, of moving the country in a different direction.

For Mahathir he's had to face some of the things he's done, and to apologize. He had retired from politics but earlier this year declared his return to politics, switching political allegiances and joining the opposition coalition with one goal: to take down Najib. While Mahathir was also part of UMNO when he was in power first time round, he has now set up his own political party Parti Pribumi Bersatu, which joined the opposition coalition, Pakatan Harapan.

Another party that will play a crucial role in the elections is the conservative Islamic party PAS. While they are likely to gain only a small number of seats, in the increasingly likely event neither main party gets a majority, Pas will have the power to chose who to form a coalition with.

Hundreds of millions landed in Najib's bank account, though he denies any wrongdoing. The US Justice Department is seeking to recover money from the fund it says was gambled in Las Vegas, used to buy hotels, apartments, a luxury yacht, a jet, diamond jewellery, art works and to finance Hollywood films including the Wolf of Wall Street and Dumb and Dumber To. In one email he wrote "Looks like we may have hit a goldmine" after organising a 1MDB deal that would later allegedly become a money laundering vehicle.

Singapore has fined eight banks for failing to carry out proper anti-money laundering measures in relation to 1MDB and given prison sentences to several bankers. A parliamentary inquiry found many irregularities but had no mandate to prosecute so, outraged by the scandal, year-old former leader Mahathir Mohammad came out of political retirement and opposition united behind him for the elections. The government recently passed a "fake news" law that could be used to further stifle reporting on the case within Malaysia.