KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak could be competing for the nation's attention against the opposition's pick for prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, on the night before polls.

Both have scheduled live broadcasts of their final addresses at 10pm on Tuesday (May 8).



Mr Najib's speech from his constituency in Pekan, Pahang, will be broadcast across Malaysian television channels as well as on his Facebook page.

Three days before the prime minister promoted his address, Dr Mahathir had announced that his own final message from Langkawi, where he is contesting, would be shown on screens at political rallies across the nation, as well as on Facebook.

The opposition leader, however, also has to compete with a concert in Langkawi happening that same night. Popular Singaporean singer Ramli Sarip and Malaysians Dayang Nurfaizah and Joe Flizzow are among those headlining the show, scheduled to begin at 8pm.

Members of the opposition allege the timing of the concert, announced on Sunday and organised by the Langkawi Development Authority and the Ministry of Finance, is no coincidence.



Mr Najib's ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition may be up for its toughest battle yet these polls. BN has been in power since the country's independence but it lost its two-thirds majority in 2008. It went on to lose the popular vote in 2013 despite holding on to power.

Analysts say the Dr Mahathir-led opposition alliance could block BN's chances of regaining lost ground, which may not bode well for Mr Najib's position in government and his party.