Dr M says thank you for birthday wishes, happy that he is still remembered

PETALING JAYA: Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has thanked everyone including his nemesis Datuk Seri Najib Razak for the well-wishes on his 95th birthday.

In a video posted on his Facebook page on Friday (July 10), Dr Mahathir thanked those who wished him happy birthday.

“I see even Datuk Seri Najib has penned and I would like to say thank you to him and thank you to everyone for the good wishes, which is very important.

“Because I still feel happy that I’m still remembered by so many people,” he said.

Najib, in a Facebook post earlier, wished Dr Mahathir a happy birthday and a “long blessed life filled with good health and peace”.

The two had a falling-out in 2015 due to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

Dr Mahathir said he did not expect people to remember his birthday, adding that it was a pleasant surprise when he received well-wishes for his birthday.

He also said Russian President Vladimir Putin, through the country's ambassador in Malaysia, had wished him a happy birthday via a letter.

“Well, I don’t have any other wishes from any other leaders but I appreciate very much that foreign leaders still remember my birthday.

“I would like to say thank you very much for the good wishes. It is very heartening.”

Dr Mahathir said well-wishes like this is the kind of motivation that keeps him going on in his struggle for Malaysia.

“It gives me the kind of incentive to try and do something for this country. Thank you,” he said.

In the video, Dr Mahathir’s wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali also sang a rendition of Doris Day’s 1950s ballad “If I Give my Heart to You”.