- Title: Profile of former Malaysia PM Mahathir as he recovers from infection
- Date: 20th February 2024
- Summary: Mahathir attended his last cabinet meeting as his 22-year rule came to a close. PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA (FILE - OCTOBER 29, 2003) (REUTERS) (MUTE) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF PRIME MINISTER OFFICE CABINET MINISTERS SITTING FOR PHOTO SESSION MAHATHIR / CABINET MINISTERS Mahathir chaired the last UMNO meeting before retiring. His successor was then deputy prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who he later accused of being disloyal after Abdullah cancelled a number of development projects that he had initiated. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (FILE - OCTOBER 30, 2003) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) MAHATHIR HOLDING UP THE HAND OF FORMER MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER, ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI, AFTER HE CHAIRED THE LAST PARTY MEETING Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over Mahathir to become the fifth Malaysian prime minister. Mahathir was the longest-serving prime minister in Malaysia's history. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (FILE - OCTOBER 30, 2003) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MAHATHIR RECEIVING MEDAL FROM FORMER MALAYSIAN KING, SYED SIRAJUDDIN Mahathir continued to make public appearances after retirement. He remained well respected by the members of UMNO before his fallout with the political party. Mahathir also joined non-official events like offering prayers for the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July 2014. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (FILE - JULY 25, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MAHATHIR PRAYING In 2015, Mahathir emerged to become the fiercest critic of his former protégé and then-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. At the age of 90, Mahathir joined thousands of protesters on the streets calling for the resignation of Najib over a corruption allegation. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (FILE - AUGUST 30, 2015) (REUTERS) MAHATHIR WALKING AND WAVING TO SUPPORTERS Mahathir quit UMNO and said it was seen as "supporting corruption" under Najib's leadership. This was the second time Mahathir quit UMNO. He resigned after the ruling coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament in the 2008 elections and rejoined the next year when Abdullah was replaced by Najib. PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA (FILE - FEBRUARY 29, 2016) (REUTERS) MAHATHIR SITTING IN NEWS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING RESIGNATION FROM UMNO
- Embargoed: 5th March 2024 07:03
- Keywords: Mahathir Mohamad Malaysia former prime minister profile
- Location: KUALA LUMPUR, PUTRAJAYA, SEPANG, ALOR SETAR, PETALING JAYA, SERI KEMBANGAN, LANGKAWI, ANAK BUKIT, MALAYSIA / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / HAVANA, CUBA
- City: KUALA LUMPUR, PUTRAJAYA, SEPANG, ALOR SETAR, PETALING JAYA, SERI KEMBANGAN, LANGKAWI, ANAK BUKIT, MALAYSIA / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / HAVANA, CUBA
- Country: Various
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA009812701011970RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is still receiving treatment in hospital and is recovering from an infection, his office said on Tuesday (February 20), dismissing rumours the 98-year-old was in critical condition.
Two photographs released on Tuesday on Mahathir's social media page X, formerly Twitter, showed the former premier sitting in a chair reading a newspaper and writing on a document.
"YABhg. Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad is currently still being treated in the National Heart Institute (IJN) since 26 January 2024 and is in the process of recovering from infection," read a caption posted with the images. The post did not specify when Mahathir would be discharged.
The nonagenarian, who has a history of heart problems, was admitted to the National Heart Institute on Jan. 26 due to an unspecified infection.
Mahathir, who was Malaysia's prime minister for more than two decades, has been in and out of hospital in recent years and had undergone bypass surgeries. He was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, and held the top post again from 2018 to 2020 after leading the opposition coalition to a historic win, but his government collapsed due to infighting.
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