Mahathir delays political tour

Thu, 08 Apr 1999 | Source: AP

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Due to a lung infection that has kept him in the hospital for nearly a week, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has put off a national political tour ahead of an upcoming election, officials said on Wednesday.

Mahathir postponed a three-day trip to the eastern state of Sabah on Borneo island after being advised by doctors to get plenty of rest, said Sabah's Chief Minister Osu Sukam.

Mahathir, 73, was admitted to the capital's National Heart Institute last Friday with a lung infection.

His deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has visited Mahathir regularly, said the diagnosis was "bronchitis, something to do with his chest... his lung," but added, "it is not his heart, nothing to do with his heart."

Mahathir underwent triple bypass heart surgery in 1989, but he has kept up a hectic schedule of work and travel since then.

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