Malaysia's Najib raises doubt that Mahathir will succeed him

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Najib Razak appeared to raise doubt on Thursday that his mentor-turned-foe Mahathir Mohamad would succeed him as prime minister following the stunning defeat of his ruling coalition in the country's general election.

Najib said he accepted the "verdict of the people" in Wednesday's election, which was won by an alliance of parties led by Mahathir, a 92-year-old who ruled the country with an iron fist as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

However, he told a news conference that, since no single party had won a simple majority of seats in the 222-member parliament, it would be up to the country's constitutional monarch to decide who should be the next prime minister.

Official results showed that Mahathir's Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition - which is made up of four parties - won 113 seats, one more than the number required to rule.