BANGKOK, Nov 2 — The world’s oldest prime minister at 94 may soon come out with a book on his ways to stay slim and sharp.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he “feels obliged” to spell out his dos-and-don’ts to a long life after being asked the question for the umpteenth time at the Asean Business and Investment Summit 2019 here today.
“So many people have asked me this question that I feel obliged to write it down one day,” he said with a straight face as some 1,000 delegates laughed during a dialogue session moderated by Arin Jira.
The chairman of the Asean Business Advisory Council was also the person who asked the Malaysian prime minister for his recipe to longevity and a razor mind.
“How do you do it, what do you do, what do you eat? I think all of us here want to know.”
“To answer your question is very difficult. Practically I do not know how I survived,” Dr Mahathir quipped.
But the prime minister for a second time relented and said he only practised the advice his mother gave him.
“First thing is, don’t overeat. Eat to live, not live to eat. That’s very simple.
“And when the food is nice, stop eating. That is my mother’s advice to me.”
His second tip to keeping the use of his limbs and his wit at his age is to “be active”. By this, he said he meant exercising the muscles as well as the brain and all other organs so they continue to function well.
“Talk, sing, argue, debate, quarrel, activate your brain.
“Use your brain all your time, if you make use of your brain, then you will be able to answer questions like yours,” said the author of The Malay Dilemma and A Doctor In The House.
Dr Mahathir self-deprecatingly said his tips were not the result of any “scientific examination” that had been tested and proven.
“Not very scientific, not proven but it’s what I have observed from the life I have,” he said.
