Malaysia's 14th general election resulted in a surprise victory for an opposition coalition for the first time since Malaysia's independence. In a stunning political comeback, 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad – the former authoritarian leader – was sworn in as prime minister on Thursday.

As AP reports, the election result is a political earthquake for the Muslim-majority country, sweeping aside the 60-year rule of the National Front and its leader Najib Razak, whose reputation was tarnished by a monumental corruption scandal, a crackdown on dissent and the imposition of an unpopular sales tax that hurt many of his coalition's poor rural supporters.

Mahathir, prime minister for 22 years until stepping down in 2003, was credited with modernizing Malaysia but was also known as a heavy-handed leader who imprisoned opponents and subjugated the courts.

“We need to have this government today without delay,” Mahathir, 92, said before the ceremony. “There is a lot of work to be done. You know the mess the country is in and we need to attend to this mess as soon as possible and that means today.”

Former premier Najib Razak, 64, said he accepted the “verdict of the people” and tweeted that he had “recently congratulated Tun Dr Mahathir on his appointment as the seventh prime minister,” and added, “I'm willing to help a smooth transition.”

We are sure he is – as the specter of the 1MDB corruption debacle looms ever larger now, since, as The Australian reports, newly-elected Mahathir Mohamad has warned the man he toppled, Najib Razak, that he will have to “face the consequences” if he has done anything wrong over the theft of US$4.5bn ($6bn) from the country's sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.