Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's former official residence in Kuala Lumpur will be preserved to show the "simple life" he led and the small bedroom he slept in despite heading the government for 22 years, the official Bernama news agency reported today.

Work on the old Seri Perdana was almost complete and it would be opened before his retirement in October, said National Archives director Habibah Zon.