Speaking to FMT, Rewcastle-Brown gave the example of one-time arch enemies Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whom she said had successfully put aside their differences to oust Najib Razak.

She said the members of various parties had also been able to unite for the sake of the country and the rule of law, despite any previous suspicions of one another.

“People could see there were genuine sacrifices made.

“Furthermore, after 60 years, people wanted change,” she said, adding that this was important as democracy was pointless if there were no changes even after 60 years.

Rewcastle-Brown, who has spent the last 10 years investigating alleged scandals in Malaysia, including 1MDB, said she was heartened by the way in which even those who were once enemies had found it within themselves to join hands in the 14th general election.

If they had not voted for change this time around, she said, Malaysians would have found it more difficult to change the government in the future.

“Many Malaysians understand this, and that is why they are so incredibly happy this time,” she added.

The London-based editor, who is in Malaysia until tomorrow, said she had had faith that things would turn out the way they did.

“I have spent 10 years writing on scandals in Malaysia. I wouldn’t have done this if I really believed there was no hope.”

However, she continued to express hope for more media freedom, saying she had not been able to investigate and publish reports on some issues due to the lack of press freedom.

She said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the right person to entrust with carrying out institutional and economic reforms.

She said Mahathir had adopted Pakatan Harapan’s agenda and knew what needed to be done.