‘Just a Happy Birthday wish is good enough’

KUALA LUMPUR: No need for gifts, just a “Happy Birthday” greeting is good enough.

That was the request of Prime Minis­ter Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to Malaysians, in conjunction with his 93rd birthday.

“Message or wish me ‘Happy Birthday’. That’s what I really appreciate,” he said in an interview with Radio Bernama yesterday.

The statesman also joked that he was forgetful and never remembered his own birthday.

But his beloved wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali will always remember his special day.

“But my wife never forgets. Early this morning, she wished me ‘Happy Birthday’. So I’m safe and I celebrate it too, la.

“If I have to rely on myself, even my own birthday, I don’t remember,” he said.

He said a dish of glutinous rice and meat rendang also marked the special day.

Dr Mahathir, Malaysia’s fourth prime minister from 1981 until 2003, was also asked on the differences in his previous and current administration.

“A lot of differences. Previously, I took over the government from my own party and it was not much of a problem. The government machinery ran smoothly and I was just guiding it.

“This time, it was as if I had to form a new government and look for officers who are clean to manage the administration, and I myself don’t know them.

“I have to get information about them on whether they are suitable to helm the government machinery,” he added. — Bernama