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11 July 2015

#Interview Marina: Growing up with Dr Mahathir like regular kids http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/304813  @netraKL

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INTERVIEW One would imagine that the children of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the man who had served as prime minister for 22 years, would have had a privileged childhood.

But his eldest, Marina, said she and her siblings had a rather normal upbringing in what used to be the small town of Alor Setar, Kedah.

“People keep thinking I grew up as a prime minister’s daughter, which is quite flattering because they think I’m very young, but in fact he didn’t become premier until I was an adult.

“I had a pretty normal childhood. He was well known in Alor Setar, our town, because he was the first Malay doctor in the private sector, so he was quite well known.

“But apart from that we really had a normal time, a normal life,” she told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
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Marina said they were normal parents, describing Mahathir as a joker, and Siti Hasmah as the enforcer in the family.

“He is more the joker, my mum didn’t tell jokes that much. My mum was the enforcer you know, she was tasked with making sure we did our homework, and of course you don’t like the enforcer.”

She said Mahathir would only get involved if things were really serious. However this didn’t mean that Mahathir did not place emphasis on discipline, and manners.

“One day when I was three years old, our gardener Pak Hashim complained to my dad that I had stuck my tongue out at him, which was considered a really, really bad thing to do.
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Besides school and manners, Mahathir and Siti Hasmah also emphasised on honesty.
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“Their idea was, you have to get education right until university, after that if you want to be a singer or whatever, you can. But you have that degree to fall back on,” she said.

She said her parents were also confident that they had raised their children well, and developed core values that would be unshaken when they left the nest to study abroad.
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Fast forward to the present, and Mahathir has developed a public persona as a fierce, sarcastic, and strict old man.

Marina however revealed that he is still the affectionate father he was when she was young, who now dotes on 18 grandchildren, especially his 12 granddaughters.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/304813

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10 July 2015

BEST MISTAKES MADE BY MAHATHIR The results of the 2008 and 2013 general elections, which shook the foundation of the ruling coalition, were the result of Mahathir’s two mistakes – appointing Anwar Ibrahim as his number two and then sacking him.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/304657 —

Raj Kumar Karuppiah ‏@RajGreatEastern 30m30 minutes ago

@Actor_Vivek Today is one of your favorite leader, Tun Dr Mahathir‘s birthday

Syafiqah Hanim ‏@missmasmos 2h2 hours ago

Happy Birthday Tun Dr Mahathir. You even got wishes from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and all over the world wahhh

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Happy 90th birthday to my gorgeous greatest idol Tun Dr Mahathir

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• malaysiakini.com ‏@malaysiakini 8h8 hours ago

  To keep curing national maladies, Dr Mahathir’s birthday wish http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/304737 

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Syahmi Aiman ‏@samnsyahmi 9h9 hours ago

Happy 90th Birthday Tun Dr Mahathir! Proud to have you as our leader.

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Malaysian Daily News and 4 others follow

SidRayaGanu ฏ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ‏@sidchan 12h12 hours ago

Bend it like Mahathir. Happy 90th birthday Tun

Jul 10, 2015 Malaysiakini

Ahmad Maslan: Happy B’day, stop whacking PM

Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan wished former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad health and happiness in conjunction with the former premier’s 90th birthday today. “May Allah repay your good deeds for developing the country for 22 years,” he told reporters in Putrajaya. Asked if he had any wishes for Mahathir, Ahmad Maslan changed his tune. “I hope he stops attacking Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. That is my hope for him this Ramadan and Syawal,” he said. http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/304776 —

Happy birthday, Malaysian maverick http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/304657  #Mahathir @chedet_cc

… Newsroom legend has it that when Dr Mahathir Mohamad went under the knife following a heart attack in 1989, media organisations had scrambled to compile his obit. It is said some of the editors who ordered their reporters to work on the special issue then have themselves graced the obituary pages in the 26 years since Mahathir’s bypass surgery. A few more trips to the hospital and another heart bypass later, Mahathir continues to tick and has now crossed the peripheries that separate octogenarians from nonagenarians. He turns 90 today. Notwithstanding, the political juggernaut remains a source of intense chest discomfort, or more like a stabbing pain, for those who succeeded him. Mahathir is no stranger to making political careers skip a beat or even come to a complete flat-line. At present, he is attempting to clog Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s arteries and the latter’s reputation is now on life support. While he did not intend it, the former premier had unwittingly played an instrumental role in opening up democratic space, and even helped to usher the rise of Malaysiakini. The results of the 2008 and 2013 general elections, which shook the foundation of the ruling coalition, were the result of Mahathir’s two mistakes – appointing Anwar Ibrahim as his number two and then sacking him. … Whatever the reason, it was the Reformasi movement born in the aftermath of Anwar’s expulsion that fertilised the Malaysian soil for the voices of dissent to grow louder and stronger. http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/304657 — Malaysiakini Jul 10, 2015

A family gathering for dad’s birthday, says Marina

With successful children and wealth of his own, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad could probably celebrate his 90th birthday today with a big bash. But neither that nor a proposal by his daughter Marina to hold an awards ceremony in his name, are what he wants. “We were thinking what to do for his 90th birthday. Should we have a big do, should we do something else? “I was thinking of doing something that is more long lasting, not just a celebration but some sort of awards programme in his name but he just refused. “He doesn’t want to have anything in his name. ‘Nothing in my name’ he said,” Marina told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview Thursday. Marina said that when asked how he wanted to celebrate his birthday, Mahathir simply replied: “A doa selamat (thanksgiving prayer ceremony) is just fine.” And that’s exactly what he’s getting – a breaking fast dinner and prayers with family, especially the 18 grandchildren who he dotes on. “He actually likes being surrounded by family so we really made an effort to get all the grandchildren to come rather than just the older ones,” Marina, the eldest of Mahathir’s seven children, said. http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/304663 —

Happy 90th birthday to my darling Dad! May Allah swt always bless you with good health, strength, courage, joy and love. #TunM90 …

— ash ‏@_OfficialAsyraf 1h1 hour ago

Happy Birthday To Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad . Semoga sentiasa diberi kesihatan yang baik dlm membela nasib negara

— azwanmohdnaser ‏@azwanmohdnaser 1h1 hour ago

Selamat menyambut ulangtahun kelahiran yang ke 90 Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad !!! #FormerPrimeMinister #YouAreNotAlone

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Happy birthday Tun Mahathir Mohamad. RESPECT! #TunMahathir #Legend #Respect credit: @wearabstrax https://instagram.com/p/47tHOOvveA/

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Thank you and we will never forget your good deeds Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Happy Birthday sir!

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Happy 90th Birthday YABhg Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

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PROTON Holdings Bhd ‏@protoncar 14h14 hours ago

A special thank you message from our chairman, YAB Tun Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad.

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Kini X ‏@kini_x 18h18 hours ago

Malaysian Maverick at 90 – A Retrospective on Tun Dr. M’s life and career: http://bit.ly/MKMahathirTimeline …

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