'Doctor of headaches' Mahathir shares tips on stress-busting

Dr Mahathir Mohamad, long a cause of migraines for his political rivals, is now doling out tips on how to handle the very headaches he is famous for inducing.

In a brief video posted on his Facebook, the former premier, who celebrated his 100th birthday in July, was responding to a question on how to deal with stress.

“In life, there will always be times when we are under stress,” Mahathir responded.

Mahathir reminded that every problem eventually finds a solution, which in political parlance could translate to a rival being expelled, ousted, or toppled.

“Of course, when you are under stress, you have to understand why you are under stress, and you have to be able to overcome the problem.

“To do that, you have to learn about the problem, consult people, look at ‘models’ et cetera, so that you know what to do with that problem.

“Once you know what to do with the problem, and you take action, the stress will normally reduce,” he added.

Mahathir, who ruled for more than two decades, is neither a stranger to stress nor to inflicting it on others, as his successors would attest.

Pounding pressure

His latest migraine is hardly new - it dates back to 1998, the year he dismissed Anwar Ibrahim from the government.

The pain briefly eased in the run-up to the 2018 election, when Mahathir returned as prime minister. But it resurfaced after Anwar’s release from prison and came roaring back with full force following the 2022 polls.

Since realising his long-held ambition of becoming prime minister, Anwar has set his sights on exposing the “ill-gotten” wealth of Mahathir, his sons, and close allies.

Mahathir, insisting their fortunes are legitimate, has countered by accusing Anwar of waging political vendettas based on false claims.

Whether Mahathir - now aligned with the opposition - can navigate this latest “stress” storm as he did with past challenges from former premiers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak remains to be seen.

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