Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed allowed brief home leave after month-long hospital stay

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed has been allowed to return home briefly after spending about a month in hospital following a fractured hip, according to a statement issued by his aide on 6 February 2026.

Sufi Yusoff said Dr Mahathir was granted “home leave” on 4 and 5 February.

He later returned to the National Heart Institute, known locally as IJN, to continue treatment and observation.

“In the afternoon, he returned to IJN to continue treatment and observation by the medical team,” Mr Sufi said.

He added that the temporary leave formed part of a staged recovery process.

IJN is Malaysia’s premier cardiac referral centre and has previously treated Dr Mahathir during earlier admissions linked to heart-related conditions. The institute has overseen several episodes of his medical care over recent decades.

Mr Sufi said the medical team monitoring Dr Mahathir’s progress were satisfied with his recovery so far and with his response to physiotherapy following the hip injury.

“Although allowed to return home in stages, Dr Mahathir is still being monitored by the IJN medical team,” he said. Doctors have advised that he should not receive visitors beyond immediate family members for the time being.

Dr Mahathir fractured his hip at his residence in early January 2026.

According to earlier accounts, the injury occurred while he was moving from one part of a balcony into the living room.

On 27 January, he was seen in public sitting in a wheelchair while being shown to a table at a café in the Pavilion Damansara Heights shopping mall.

The brief appearance attracted attention due to his recent hospitalisation.

Dr Mahathir turned 100 in July 2025, making him one of the world’s oldest former heads of government.

His advanced age has drawn particular interest whenever he is admitted to hospital.

He has faced recurring health challenges in recent years, particularly related to his heart. According to past medical disclosures and media reports, he has suffered at least two heart attacks.

He has also undergone at least two coronary bypass surgeries over the course of his life. These procedures were widely reported during his earlier terms in office and in subsequent years.

In December 2021 and January 2022, Dr Mahathir was admitted to hospital on separate occasions for several days to undergo medical checks. His office said at the time that the admissions were precautionary.

Despite these health concerns, Dr Mahathir has remained publicly active and politically engaged. He continues to be regarded as one of the most dominant figures in Malaysia’s modern political history.

He first served as prime minister from 1981 to 2003, presiding over more than two decades of rapid economic development and industrialisation. His leadership during that period left a lasting imprint on national institutions.

Dr Mahathir returned to office in 2018 at the age of 92, leading a reformist coalition that ended more than six decades of uninterrupted rule by the same political alliance. The political comeback was widely described as historic.

That administration collapsed in 2020 following internal power struggles and defections, triggering a period of political instability and a succession of leadership changes at the federal level.

In the 2022 general election, Dr Mahathir lost his parliamentary seat, marking his first electoral defeat at the federal level. Despite this setback, he continued to comment on and influence political debate.

He later aligned himself with several ethnic Malay political parties in efforts to challenge the government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. These moves ensured his continued presence in national political discourse.