KUALA LUMPUR: A hip fracture for which he was hospitalised has not kept Dr Mahathir Mohamad down for long. Three weeks after his injury, the two-time Prime Minister of Malaysia was out and about again, going to a local mall on January 27 (Tuesday) with his wife and some of his doctors.
On his Facebook page, his office issued an update on Dr Mahathir’s health, along with photos of the brief outing.
The former Prime Minister, who turned 100 last July, had fallen while walking from the balcony to the living room of his Kuala Lumpur home at around 7:30 am on January 6. He was conscious when he was brought to the National Heart Institute (IJN), and examinations showed that the fall caused a fracture to his right hip.
At the time, his press secretary, Sufi Yusoff, said Dr Mahathir was expected to remain in the hospital for a few weeks for treatment and observation.
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On January 27, the statement from Mr Yusoff said that medical doctors brought Dr Mahatir from IJN to a café at the Pavilion Damansara Heights shopping mall. Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, Dr Mahathir’s wife, accompanied them, along with IJN CEO Dr Mohamed Ezani Md Taib.
The outing lasted 40 minutes.
“Dr Mahathir chose to enjoy a glass of iced chocolate for his first outing since being admitted to IJN on January 6th for treatment and rehabilitation following a fall at his residence at The Mines, which resulted in a fractured right hip,” the statement said, adding that he was taken back to IJN after the trip to the mall, as he has not yet been cleared to return to his home.
The statement also said that only his immediate family is currently allowed to visit the former Prime Minister.
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Dr Mahathir has been hospitalised twice in recent years. In October 2024, he was confined for a respiratory infection, and last year, after his 100th birthday, he was admitted to IJN due to fatigue. He has also had two bypass surgeries, one in 1989 and the other in 2007.
He first served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003, stepping down at the age of 28 after being in office for 22 years.
Dr Mahathir emerged from seclusion to defeat Najib Razak in an astonishing win in Malaysia’s General Election in May 2018. He stepped down, however, in February 2020. /TISG
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