Mahathir delays political tour

Mahathir delays political tour

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.