(Bloomberg) -- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has been hospitalized at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur since Tuesday morning, according to his office.
The 99-year-old, who served twice as prime minister, was admitted for lower respiratory tract infection, his spokesman, Sufi Yusoff, said. Mahathir will spend his time resting and undergoing treatment while under the monitor of doctors, Sufi added.
Mahathir has been issued medical leave until Oct. 25, according to Sufi. He has been in and out of hospital for the past few years. He suffered several heart attacks and underwent bypass surgery.
Mahathir led Malaysia for nearly a quarter century in two different stints before infighting led to his abrupt resignation as prime minister in 2020. He lost in the 2022 general election.
(Updates with further details of Mahathir’s admission in second paragraph. In an earlier version of this story, his office corrected the timing of his hospitalization in the first paragraph.)
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