KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s veteran former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has been picked to lead an opposition bid for election victory, has been admitted to hospital with a chest infection, authorities said yesterday, reports AFP. The 92-year-old, who has joined forces with his former protege-turned-nemesis Anwar Ibrahim in an attempt to topple scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak, “is being treated in the general ward for chest infection following a bout of cough,” the National Heart Institute said in a statement.

Mahathir was admitted late Friday and would remain for a few days for “treatment and observation”. In recent weeks, Mahathir has been criss-crossing the country to beef up support for the opposition with polls fast approaching. Mahathir has undergone two coronary bypass surgeries, in 1989 and 2007.

Political analysts say with Anwar, the country’s most popular opposition leader and currently in jail, Mahathir is regarded as the biggest threat for Najib, who must call an election by August but is facing a massive corruption scandal over the sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.