Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has been hospitalised for observation since Tuesday, a day after his wife of 70 years died.
The 101-year-old, who served twice as prime minister, has been hospitalised at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur, his spokesman Sufi Yusoff said. His relationship with her contrasted with the confrontational politics that characterised much of his career, including his 1998 dismissal of then-deputy and current premier Anwar Ibrahim. “But for now, he is okay and there is no cause for concern. “She was quite well last night. Siti Hasmah and Mahathir marked their 70th anniversary last month, a partnership that began when they were medical students in Singapore and endured through his rise from a doctor to the dominant figure in Malaysian politics. With Siti Hasmah, Mahathir showed a softer side: the couple held hands, teased each other and remained openly affectionate well into old age. Mahathir has been in and out of hospital in the past few years, and has suffered several heart attacks. He fractured his right hip in January, but subsequently recovered and resumed making public appearances.
“The past two days has been very stressful for” Mahathir, his son Mokhzani Mahathir told Malaysia’s state-owned Bernama on Wednesday. “I didn’t expect her to die today,” he said. Mahathir, who used a motorised wheelchair and wore an oxygen tube, was visibly overcome with grief during the burial of his wife on Monday.
