Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad marked his return to public life on Thursday night after a brief hospital stay, making a significant appearance at the State Mandate Gathering held at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium in Suka Menanti, Alor Setar. The former Prime Minister, who was recently admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) due to exhaustion, looked healthy and composed as he joined other prominent Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders at the event.
Dr Mahathir, currently serving as the Head of the Advisory Panel for the 4-State Government Summit (SG4), arrived at the venue at approximately 10:20pm. His presence was reserved for the highlight of the evening—a leadership lecture session that included addresses from four major PN figures. The lecture series began with Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, followed by speeches from United Malaysian Party (Bersatu) Deputy President Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, PAS President Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, and Bersatu President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Dr Mahathir’s segment served as the concluding note to the series, drawing notable attention and applause from the crowd.
Earlier in the day, the gathering saw various religious and youth-centric programs, including a Mega Youth Gathering, Maghrib and Hajat prayers, Yasin recitation, and Isyak prayers. These activities set a spiritual and community-oriented tone ahead of the more politically charged evening session.
Dr Mahathir’s reappearance comes shortly after his hospitalization on July 14, when he was reported to have been admitted to IJN due to fatigue. Prior to that, he had participated in a "Picnic & Potluck" event in Putrajaya celebrating his 100th birthday alongside his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, who turned 99. Despite needing to leave that celebration early, he had reassured well-wishers that he was in good health.
Driving himself to the July 10 event and even taking a 30-minute bicycle ride around Lake Putrajaya, Mahathir had seemed physically active. His appearance in Alor Setar further confirmed that he had recovered well and remains a central figure in Malaysia’s political landscape, particularly within the opposition-aligned Perikatan Nasional coalition.
The State Mandate Gathering, which brought together thousands of supporters and party leaders, reflected the coalition's efforts to strengthen unity and showcase its leadership in key states.
FlyingBird (aicashflow7@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.