KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir has been appointed Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) patron.

The appointment by the board of trustees will see her return to the national stage of fighting HIV/AIDS since she left Malaysian AIDS Council as its president in 2005.

She was also MAF chairman.

"When I left in 2005, they offered me that. But to me, patrons are kind of older women who had some clout and whatever,” she told Malay Mail in an interview.

"I didn’t think I was suitable for it. I suppose I am older now but still no clout.

"But I said as long as my main role is not to raise funds as I have to raise funds for other organisations that I belong to.”

She added that she was told that there was already a good team at MAF carrying out fund-raising.

"I was adviser for a while which I felt was a more active role. But I found they didn’t really need my advice so off I went.”

The immediate past patron of MAF was Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

"I don’t plan to take an active role as before because they do have an exco and executive director. I don’t want to interfere in all that.”