Hisham dodges report Mugabe is here

Mugabe is known to have close ties with Dr Mahathir. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein neither confirmed nor denied a report by a British newspaper that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is in the country.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Mugabe is believed to be recovering here, following a major prostate operation.

Today, Hishammuddin told reporters that he could not corroborate if the president was currently in Malaysia.

“I cannot confirm that and I won’t [say] one way or the other,” he said.

The report said the 87-year-old Mugabe had undergone a medical examination early this month while he was on a holiday in Malaysia.

He was later forced to return to Kuala Lumpur upon his return to Harare after his condition worsened.

Despite the serious health problem, leaders from his Zanu PF party were confident that Mugabe would recover and return to Zimbabwe within a week, said the newspaper.

Mugabe has been president of the African nation since 1987 but is now leading a coalition government with his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, who became prime minister in 2008.

Last month, Mugabe pledged to continue leading Zanu PF in elections to be held this year.

Mugabe is known to have close ties with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and had received Malaysian timber worth about RM100,000 as a gift from the Malaysian government in late 2003.

He has made several private visits to Malaysia and once hired a local doctor to be his personal physician. - Malaysian Insider