Malaysian incumbent Prime Minister Najib Razak delivers a speech during a campaign gathering ahead of the general election in Pekan in the eastern state of Pahang, Malaysia, on May 8, 2018. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad found no time to rest on their final day of campaigning before the general election, both making live speeches on Tuesday night to appeal to Malaysian voters for support in a last-minute show-down. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)
KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad found no time to rest on their final day of campaigning before the general election, both making live speeches on Tuesday night to appeal to Malaysian voters for support in a last-minute show-down.
Najib, who is leading the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) to seek a third term, was speaking from Pekan in the eastern Pahang state, where he has held the parliamentary seat since 1976, while Mahathir was making the speech in Langkawi, a constituency he helped transform from a backwater island to an international tourist spot.
Najib is betting on generous handouts and a "proven track record" to fend off the challenge of Mahathir. During his speech, Najib announced new incentive measures such as tax exemption for those aged 26 years old and under, two more public holidays and five toll-free days for the Muslim Hari Raya festival.
"If BN were given a new mandate, we will make Malaysia even greater," said Najib, adding "BN is the party of the future, BN is the party for the future."
In the meantime, 92-year-old Mahathir, said in his speech that Malaysia is faced with many problems that could only be solved with the change of government. He urged voters to vote for the opposition to save the country.
A final poll before the election, released by opinion research firm Merdeka Center, forecasts that Najib's BN will prevail in the election, but with the popular vote collecting from Peninsular Malaysia dropping to 37.3 percent from last week's 40.3 percent.
The survey shows that BN will win 100 out of the 222 parliament seats, while the opposition alliance Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope winning 83 seats. The rest of the seats are too close to call, according to the poll.
The 15 million eligible voters are expected to cast their votes between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The election commission said the final results could be unveiled in late night. A simple majority of 112 parliament seats will produce a winner.
