“I will have to think hard before making a decision. But thank you for the advice,” he told reporters today when asked if he would consider contesting in a mixed constituency seat.
The former prime minister has previously said he was eyeing Langkawi, Kubang Pasu or Putrajaya, seats which are closely linked to him during his time in the government.
But former minister Zaid Ibrahim has warned that the three seats were not necessarily safe for Mahathir, despite helming the government for over two decades.
“These are not the constituencies that can give Pakatan Harapan any certainty of having him as their prime minister, unless they are not very concerned about his chance of winning in the first place,” Zaid wrote in his blog last month.
Mahathir, who is credited with building Putrajaya, served as MP for Kubang Pasu from 1974 to 2004, and is considered the architect behind Langkawi’s tourism boom.