The official residence where former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad lived was opened to the public today.

Mahathir, 78, who became prime minister in 1981, lived with his family at Sri Perdana in Kuala Lumpur between 1983 to 1999 before moving to the new administrative capital of Putrajaya.

Renamed Galeria Sri Perdana, the three-storey residence was officially opened as "a national gallery dedicated to a leader who has done great deeds for the country", Mahathir's successor Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said at the opening.

Look at private life

"Malaysians of all walks of life are encouraged to make full use of Galeria Sri Perdana in order to get a closer look at the private life of one of our greatest leaders," he said.

"Mahathir's achievements must be immortalised for future generations and galleries like this can teach us, especially the younger generation, in order for us to follow in his footsteps," he said.

Located on a 1.84 hectare plot of land in an old exclusive upmarket residential area, visitors can browse the home's lobbies, bedrooms, meeting rooms and dining hall.

It also includes the Barber's Corner where Mahathir would have his hair cut by a barber chauffeur-driven in and a carpentry room, which Mahathir is said to have used in his spare time to make model aircraft and government insignias.

Mahathir's 23-year reign has been credited with dragging Malaysia from a commodity-based economic backwater into the manufacturing mainstream of Asian exporters. - AFP