KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has dementia, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Sunday (Sep 11).
Khairy, who is furthermore Abdullah’s son-in-law, said that the announcement has been made after a family discussion, as many people were asking about the previous leader’s health.
Abdullah, who is sometimes known affectionately as Pak Lah, was Malaysia’s fifth prime minister, serving between the year 2003 and 2009.
“Pak Lah certainly has dementia and his condition is deteriorating that he can’t actually say the names of family members as he does not remember. He may recognise them, he appears to, but he has attained the level of having problems to speak, ” Khairy said in a press conference within Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
“I asked my wife, the mother-in-law and brother-in-law just now. I believed to them that there are people who are aware of his condition while others aren’t, so could I reveal this particular (to the public)? ”
Khairy had earlier released new editions from the clinical practice guidelines for the management associated with dementia and schizophrenia.
“I’ve in no way shared this (information) before. Many of you might wonder where the 5th prime minister associated with Malaysia is. Dementia is a… very harsh condition because the person is there but the brain isn’t, ” he or she said.
“So for family members, caregivers, it’s a very hard situation because you find them there but they’re not there. I’ve seen my father-in-law deteriorating over the years, so you don’t notice him in public any more as the dementia provides deteriorated to the point where he cannot function normally anymore.
“He doesn’t remember our name and even our wife’s name. The only real reason I know which he recognises me is really because there is a flicker in the eyes when I arrived at visit him. Otherwise, I don’t know whether he registers that I’m there or not. ”
Khairy said that the administration of Abdullah’s treatment is challenging.
“I see how my mother-in-law struggles, ” said Khairy, including that his father-in-law is wheelchair-bound.
“There are good days but significantly, there are more poor days, ” he or she added.