PARLIAMENT | Parliamentary opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamid has attributed BN's defeat in the May 9 general election in part to the legacy left by Dr Mahathir Mohamad after his first tenure as prime minister.

Debating the royal decree in Dewan Rakyat today, Zahid said Mahathir left a huge debt for his successors Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak when he stepped down in 2002.

"What happened in the May 9 general election was a tragedy and a nightmare, but we should remember that the man who helmed the country was the premier for 22 out of the 61 years of BN's rule...