KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is still being treated at the National Heart Institute (IJN), but has started to interact with his family.

In a statement, his daughter Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir then thanked everyone for their prayers for the fast recovery of her father.

"On behalf of Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, all of us would like to extend our thank you to everyone, in and abroad Malaysia, who arranged for doa selamat and prayers from other faiths for my father’s speedy recovery.

"We also would like to urge everyone to not spread unverified news,” she said, adding that herself, her family and IJN would issue official statements regarding her father’s health from time to time.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir was admitted to IJN for an elective surgery and was released with a clean bill of health.

Marina later released a statement saying Dr Mahathir is in stable condition and responding positively to his treatment.