Malaysia’s Mahathir takes lakeside stroll after recovering from ‘severe illness’

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (second from left) was photographed walking around a lake in Putrajaya on Feb 9, 2022. PHOTO: DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD @CHEDETOFFICIAL/TWITTER via The Straits Times/Asia News Network

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad walked unaided by a lake in administrative capital Putrajaya on Wednesday (Feb 9), showing signs of recovery following a prolonged stay in hospital.

“I have recovered from an illness that, for me, was very severe, sometimes I did not expect to recover, but thank God, with the treatment given by the National Heart Institute (IJN), I recovered,” the statesman said in a video posted on his Twitter account.

“Now I can walk, I can eat, I can sleep, I can sit, I am almost back to normal, but I am not that strong, I still can’t do any work yet, but I hope I can get better.”

Photographs posted on his Facebook page show the 96-year-old taking a walk around the lake with his wife Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali and an entourage of staff.

Tun Dr Mahathir was discharged from IJN last Saturday following medical treatment.

He had checked into the hospital on Dec 16 for “investigations” before undergoing an unspecified elective procedure in January.

No details of his ailment or the medical procedure have been made public.

In a letter uploaded on his Facebook page last Saturday, the two-time premier expressed regret for not being able to join members of his Parti Pejuang Tanah Air in facing the upcoming Johor state election as he still requires medical treatment in hospital.

“For me, the struggle for my country will never end, just like religious obligations. For me, the struggle is also a religious obligation and a trust that we have to carry for as long as we live,” he wrote.

Dr Mahathir has served nearly 24 years in total as Malaysia’s prime minister over two separate terms, leading the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan administrations.

He is still active in politics, heading his opposition party and serving as MP for the Langkawi constituency in Kedah.

Dr Mahathir has a history of heart ailments and has had three heart attacks – one in 1989 and another two in 2006 – before undergoing a quadruple bypass in 2007.

Prior to his latest admission, the last time Dr Mahathir checked into IJN was in 2018, for a chest infection.

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