Former Malaysian PM Mahathir, 101, hospitalised two days after wife’s death

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been admitted to hospital for observation, his office said on Wednesday, two days after the death of his wife of 70 years, Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali.

Mahathir, 101, was admitted to the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night, his aide Sufi Yusoff said, adding that the reason for the admission remained unclear pending an official diagnosis.

Mahathir, who led Malaysia for more than two decades across two stints as prime minister, has a history of heart problems and has undergone multiple bypass surgeries. He has been hospitalised repeatedly in recent years, most recently in January after a fall left him with a hip fracture.

Siti Hasmah, a medical doctor and public health advocate who was married to Mahathir for 70 years, died on Monday at the age of 100. Mahathir was visibly affected by her death; in video taken during her funeral and later posted on his social media accounts, he was seen tearfully telling Malaysia’s former king that he “didn’t expect her to die today.”

Siti Hasmah’s Pakistan connection: a 2018 photo op remembered

Siti Hasmah also had a memorable brush with Pakistan, featuring in a widely shared photo opportunity during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s two-day visit to Kuala Lumpur in November 2018, which is being recalled amid coverage of her death. Khan had travelled to Malaysia at Mahathir’s invitation. In a video clip from the visit, Siti Hasmah, then Malaysia’s first lady, turned to Khan and asked, “Prime minister, can I hold your hand?” Khan agreed, prompting laughter from Mahathir and others present, as the nonagenarian posed for the photo.

According to Dawn, the visit itself centred on strengthening trade and economic ties between the two countries. A joint statement issued at its conclusion said Pakistan and Malaysia had agreed to expand trade and investment, particularly in palm oil, agricultural products, food retail, Halal products and automotive parts, alongside cooperation in education, energy, science and technology. The two countries signed a Partial Visa Abolishment Agreement, and Khan briefed Mahathir on the human rights situation in Occupied Kashmir. The two sides also discussed counterterrorism cooperation, an LNG supply agreement signed the previous year, and greater collaboration between their high-tech industries, with Malaysia inviting Pakistani companies to invest in its manufacturing and services sectors.