Malaysia's crackdown on corruption has its skeptics
International Herald Tribune
May 31, 2006
The Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad suffered a mild heart attack Thursday, two weeks after vowing to carry on a bitter feud with his successor despite his advancing age. Doctors said he was stable.

Mahathir, 81, was admitted to the government's National Heart Institute early Thursday after suffering from a mild myocardial infarction, said Alawiyah Yussof, a hospital spokeswoman.

Family members said he suffered chest pain at about 4 a.m. and was taken to hospital.

The health scare is expected to put the brakes - at least temporarily - on the strident campaign that Mahathir has been carrying on for the last year against his hand-picked successor, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Mahathir, who led Malaysia's modernization during the 22 years he was in office, from 1981 to 2003, has accused Abdullah of corruption, nepotism and mismanaging the economy, charges the prime minister denies.

Abdullah was among the first to visit the hospital but spent less than 15 minutes. He did not speak to reporters. Mokhzani Mahathir, one of the former prime minister's three sons, said that his father had been sleeping when Abdullah came and that the two did not meet.

Abdullah "was just concerned about my father's well-being. He told the doctors to make sure that everything possible is being done," Mokhzani said.

He said his father was stable and under mild sedation, adding that doctors did not believe any invasive procedure was needed. "He is in a better shape than I am. He is as alert as you and I."

Mahathir, who returned from a trip to New Zealand on Wednesday, is being looked after in a coronary care unit and will be kept under observation for a week.

The International Herald Tribune reported earlier this week that Mahathir's doctors had told him about three blockages in his heart. It was the first public indication in recent years that the elder statesman was not well, even though he has appeared robust, attended public functions regularly and traveled extensively.

"That's the life he loves to live," Mokhzani said. "That keeps him alive and motivated."

Mahathir, a medical doctor by training, had coronary artery bypass surgery in 1989. In December 2005 he was admitted to the National Heart Institute, a hospital statement said without elaborating.

Despite his age, Mahathir said in an interview on Oct. 26 that he would not give up his campaign against Abdullah.

Mahathir is credited with turning the country from an economy dependent on agriculture and mining to an industrial powerhouse. He presided over megaprojects such as the multibillion- dollar Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the new administrative capital of Putrajaya, an international technology park and the Petronas Twin Towers, once the tallest buildings in the world.

Although he retired in a blaze of glory, he has become largely isolated in the governing party, the United Malays National Organization, during the last year because of his accusations against the government, for which he has provided no real evidence.

Mahathir has also accused Abdullah of trying to "muzzle" him by thwarting public functions where he is invited to speak.

Mokhzani denied that the feud had triggered the heart attack. "If you look at his track record, he is a person who knows how to manage stress and pressure very well," he said.

Copyright © 2006 the International Herald Tribune