Malaysia’s ex-PM Mahathir allowed home but still receiving hospital treatment
- I have recovered’ but ‘not fully’ Mahathir said in a video, in which he was seen walking slowly
- The 96-year-old returns home during the day but visits the hospital in the evenings for physiotherapy and further treatment
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who served for more than two decades in the top job, continues to undergo treatment at the National Heart Institute but has been allowed to go to his home, his office said on Friday.
Mahathir, 96, has been permitted home daily, from 8am to 4pm, since Wednesday, and returns to the hospital for physiotherapy and further treatment, his office said in a statement. He has been advised not to receive visitors, it said.
In a video message, Mahathir said he goes back to the hospital in the evenings after spending the day at home as he still has to undergo certain procedures.
“I have recovered, not fully,” Mahathir said in the video, in which he was also seen walking slowly.
Mahathir was readmitted to the National Heart Institute’s cardiac care unit last month, days after he had been discharged from the same hospital for treatment after undergoing an elective medical procedure on January 8.
His condition improved last week, allowing him to joke with family and regain his appetite, his daughter said on January 25.
The National Heart Institute did not say at the time what procedure Mahathir, who has a history of heart problems, had undergone.