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.