DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang believes the 14th general election will be his last electoral contest.

The 76-year-old politician shared his view on his political future at a DAP fundraising dinner in his constituency of Gelang Patah, where former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad also made an appearance to prop him up.

After a lengthy speech about undoing the ruling coalition’s wrongs, the future of the country and justifying his cooperation with Mahathir, Lim at the end of his speech touched on his own prospects.

“I want to end with a short personal note. I have been in politics for 51 years.

“I believe the next general election - the 14th general election - will be my last electoral battle,” he said.

Lim then reiterated that it was his preference that, his possibly last electoral battle, be in Gelang Patah.

“Many have asked where I will stand. My first choice is Gelang Patah.

“But of course, the final decision will be up to the party,” he said, stressing the need for strategic considerations.

Lim said he hoped Gelang Patah would be a symbol for the country to achieve the dream that he had struggled for.

“The dream that Malaysian politics will turn to bettering the livelihood, quality of life, freedom and justice for all Malaysians and reduce the politics of race and religion,” he said.

In his speech, Lim also addressed scepticism over his cooperation with Mahathir.

“Some people questioned why, considering Mahathir arrested me and (my son) Lim Guan Eng.

“We ended up having to live off curry rice (in prison), so how can we work together now,” he said.

However, Lim emphasised on the need to look at the bigger picture in the face of a kleptocratic government ruling the country.

“To save our country, we need to set our differences aside for a bigger objective,” he said.

Lim had in the last general election contested the Gelang Patah parliamentary constituency as part of DAP’s strategy to open a new front in Johor.

The strategy of deploying heavyweights in GE13 saw DAP win four parliamentary seats and 13 state seats in Johor.

Prior to that, Lim was the MP for Ipoh Timur, in Perak.