Former Malaysian PM passes away

Kuala Lumpur: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has died at the age of 85.

According to a Reuters report, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Malaysia’s fifth prime minister after Mahathir Mohamad resigned from the prime ministership after 22 years in power in 2003.

The former Malaysian prime minister’s son-in-law and former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in an Instagram post, without giving the cause of death, that the former prime minister died at 7:10pm at the National Heart Institute in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

The institute said that Abdullah was admitted to the National Heart Institute on Sunday after experiencing difficulty breathing and was immediately placed in intensive care.

The institute said: “Despite all medical efforts, he passed away in the presence of his loved ones”.

As prime minister of the Muslim-majority country, Abdullah launched an anti-corruption campaign and supported a moderate version of Islam aimed at economic and technological progress.