Joe Biden too old to be US president? Not for Malaysians

Joe Biden too old to be US president? Not for Malaysians: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – On any given day, wealthy donors, a Hollywood star, or members of the United States Congress all carry the same message to President Joe Biden: they want the 81-year-old to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election.

According to polls, many voters in the United States are concerned about Biden’s performance and age. Donald Trump, 78, who narrowly escaped being assassinated last week, stands in his way.

However, Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia, has seen its most senior politicians ascend to power with widespread support despite their advanced age.

The most obvious examples are Mahathir Mohamad, who became the seventh prime minister of the nation in 2018 at the age of 92, and Anwar Ibrahim, the current premier of Malaysia, who took office in his mid-70s in 2022.

Al Jazeera interviewed Malaysian voters who stated that when the country went to the polls, the policies of Mahathir and Anwar were more important than their age.

“I considered their age, Mahathir specifically, given he was at that point in his 90s by that point,” a 35-year-old business chief – who went by the name Layla Subra – told Al Jazeera.

When Mahathir was re-elected in 2018 at the age of 92 years and 141 days, he became the oldest prime minister in history. He had been Malaysia’s prime minister for a total of 22 years, from 1981 to 2003.

In Malaysia, a country of 34 million people whose median age is just over 30, the official retirement age is 60. However, voters who have long been accustomed to the idea of older lawmakers rarely consider advancing years.

In China as well, age isn’t viewed as a hindrance in governmental issues.

Joe Biden too old to be US president? Not for Malaysians:  Xi Jinping, who is now 71 years old, won his third five-year term as president last year. Deng Xiaoping, the country’s supreme leader at the time, was 87 years old when he went on his famous “southern tour” in 1992 to try to get the economy moving again after it had been stagnant since the military took out the Tiananmen protests in 1989.

China’s commitment to free market liberalization and the opening of the Chinese economy to trade was reaffirmed by Deng’s tour of key southern economic zones, which was regarded as his final large-scale political initiative.

Never too old to get involved in Malaysian politics! It is not uncommon for politicians to run for office to defend seats in the country’s parliamentary system that they have held for decades.

Fong Kui Lun, 77, of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), is currently the oldest member of Malaysia’s parliament. He has been in office since 1999.

Although some voters stated to Al Jazeera that they would prefer to see younger candidates in election lineups, they were more concerned with the current policies than a candidate’s age.

“My need would be for whoever has a superior arrangement, not be guaranteed to mature,” said office chief Shaun Ho, 40.

Shaun stated, “A younger leader who still follows the status quo would be preferable to an older leader with a better plan.”

Mahathir campaigned against his former ally Najib Razak, who was later found guilty of his role in the 1MDB financial scandal, in the lead-up to the election in 2018. Najib, the sixth prime minister of the country, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but the pardons board of the country reduced his sentence early this year.

According to 40-year-old businessman Nicholas Chin, “who the member of parliament is often doesn’t matter, because we basically are voting for the party we want in power for their policies.”

“All of us are obligated to vote strategically. That is to say, Chin stated, “I will vote for the candidate I believe will cause the least harm.”

Joe Biden too old to be US president? Not for Malaysians:  Malaysia has had 10 state heads since its freedom from English provincial rule in 1957, with its initial four chosen pioneers matured in their late 40s to mid-50s.

In any case, top state leaders have all common comparable characteristics. They are all male, Muslim, and belonged to the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which was once the largest political party in the country.

Wellbeing, not age, is the variable

Indeed, even in their high level years, Mahathir, 99, and Anwar, 76, have as of late seemed to have to a great extent kept up with their particular physical and psychological well-being.

Mahathir told the AFP news agency in 2020 that he kept fit using a treadmill and an exercise bicycle, along with a strict diet, when he entered politics in the late 1950s.

Anwar stated in a social media post in February of last year that he had had a medical checkup and that the doctors had given him a clean bill of health.

being imprisoned twice on sodomy charges that were widely considered to be politically motivated. He was pardoned for the second time, and his first conviction was overturned.

US elections 2024: Biden drops out of presidential race amid pressure : After resigning as premier two years prior and later forming a new party that focused on ethnic Malay voters, Mahathir suffered his worst political defeat at the national polls in 2022.

However confronting a progression of late medical issues and turning 99 recently, Mahathir keeps on writing public considerations on legislative issues. Al Jazeera was unable to get in touch with him for comment because he is once again receiving treatment at a hospital.

Bridget Welsh, a political expert at the College of Nottingham Malaysia, said while an up-and-comer’s age matters for certain electors, what makes a difference more is a competitor’s skill and foundation.

“For the instance of Mahathir, his wellbeing didn’t appear to be an issue however what arose later was the viewpoint of thoughts,” Welsh said.

She stated, “Age only tells part of the story… In the case of Joe Biden, it is his health.”

In light of the fact that Biden tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has made numerous public gaffes over the years, there have been an increase in Democratic Party calls for him to withdraw from the presidential race.

Biden has struggled to find the appropriate words at other public appearances, including when he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin in one recent instance.

Biden’s disastrous televised public debate against Trump sent Democrats into a panic, and while Trump has been criticized for his rants about minorities and immigrants, more people are asking if he should stay in the race.

Elza Irdalynna, a 37-year-old Malaysian writer and actor, stated, “I think the difference with our elections and the one in the US is that Biden and Trump are both physically and mentally unfit.”

Elza stated that for the “average American voter,” political personalities are more important than policies in the highly polarized atmosphere of the United States.

She stated, “That’s why they need a well-known figurehead to lead the race because that’s what’s visible.”

“Despite the fact that they have better, more youthful competitors meriting those seats,” she added.