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KUALA LUMPUR - Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir has urged the public to give his father, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, space and time to grieve following the death of his beloved wife, the late Tun Dr Hasmah Mohd Ali.
Mukhriz said the loss continued to weigh heavily on the former prime minister and that it would take time for him to come to terms with his wife’s passing.
“Tun Mahathir, as we can see, has not even had a week to come to terms with the loss of his beloved wife, whom he had been with for 70 years.
“It will certainly take time for him to fully accept that my late mother is no longer with us.
“I believe what we are seeing now is, to some extent, a reflection of his emotional and health condition,” Mukhriz said.
He said this after the Yasin and tahlil recitation ceremony for the late Dr Hasmah at the Saidina Umar Al-Khattab Mosque in Bukit Damansara on Thursday.
Mukhriz said staying at the family home was also difficult for Dr Mahathir as almost everything around him reminded him of his late wife.
“Everywhere he looks at home, he is reminded of my late mother. So perhaps it would be better for him to stay at the National Heart Institute (IJN) for the time being until he has fully recovered.
“Today, he also visited her grave, which I think is a positive development,” he said.
Mukhriz also urged everyone to understand what his father was going through and avoid putting unnecessary pressure on him regarding his emotional state.
“I sincerely appeal to everyone, if possible, please do not put too much pressure on him to talk about his emotional state and so on.
“Imagine if we were in the same situation. We would also feel an enormous sense of loss.
“So, please give him some space and time to recover in his own way,” he added.
The late Dr Hasmah died at the age of 100 at the National Heart Institute on Sept 28.
Her death marked the end of more than 70 years of marriage between her and Dr Mahathir, with the couple often regarded as among the most respected couples in the country. - AWANI
