Malaysia’s Mahathir in hospital for observation a day after wife’s death

Malaysia’s two-time prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been admitted to hospital for observation, his office confirmed on Wednesday, in the latest health scare involving the 101-year-old.

Mahathir was admitted to the National Heart Institute on Tuesday night, barely a day after his wife of 70 years, Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, died at the same hospital.

It is unclear why the former leader was admitted. Sufi Yusoff, Mahathir’s long-time aide, told reporters that they were awaiting diagnosis by his doctors.

Mahathir has had a series of hospitalisations in recent years, triggering public concern over his deteriorating health.

In January, he was warded for three weeks after fracturing his right hip in a fall at his home, effectively consigning him to a wheelchair after his doctors ruled out surgery due to his age.

Just a few months prior, he was admitted to the heart institute for fatigue after attending a picnic to celebrate his 100th birthday in July. In October 2024, he was warded for two weeks after contracting a lung infection.

Mahathir has had a history of heart problems. He underwent two bypass surgeries in 1989 and 2007.

The former leader came back into the spotlight this week, as condolences poured in from Malaysians and regional leaders over the sudden loss of his wife.

In a short video posted on his social media accounts, Mahathir was seen sharing his disbelief over her death when speaking with Pahang ruler Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah. “I did not expect to lose her today,” he said.

A lifelong Malay nationalist, Mahathir is Southeast Asia’s last surviving strongman of his era.

In his first term as prime minister from 1981 to 2003, he reshaped Malaysia’s agrarian economy into one of the region’s industrial juggernauts with sprawling highway networks and a burgeoning manufacturing sector feeding the country’s all-important exports.

Mahathir was also credited with saving the country from falling into deep debt when he refused to take a loan from the International Monetary Fund at the height of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, opting instead to peg the ringgit currency to the US dollar to stabilise the economy.

But he was also famously intolerant of dissent. In his early years as prime minister, over 100 opposition politicians, activists and journalists were detained under Ops Lalang that targeted voices critical of his administration.

Malaysia made international headlines towards the end of his first term, when he saw to the jailing of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim – then his deputy – on charges of corruption and sodomy after the pair had fallen out.