PEJUANG chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today he will not be campaigning in the Johor state elections due to health concerns.

The former prime minister said he has been advised against it by his doctors.

“The doctors insisted I be careful, I’m 97 years old,” he said at a press conference in Putrajaya.

“Old people, if they get Covid-19, it’s dangerous. I would like to go (to Johor), but I cannot. The doctors said they cannot guarantee I won’t be infected and it won’t be serious.”

Dr Mahathir has a history of cardiovascular ailments, suffering three heart attacks and undergoing a quadruple bypass.

On January 20, he was admitted at the National Heart Institute (IJN) and was only discharged on February 20.

The Langkawi MP has said he thought that he would not recover from his illness.

“I’ve recovered from a serious illness. If it happens again, I don’t know what the results will be.

“I’m able to function well, I know what is happening in the country, I know who is who and I can contribute towards the struggle of Pejuang,” he said.

Dr Mathatir, who launched Pejuang Aspiration of Johor, said the party will focus on eradicating corruption, forming a fair government despite being a Malay-based party and developing the economy of the state.

“Pejuang will fight for everyone, not just Malays. Developing the country will be good for all,” he said.

“We will prioritise fighting corruption. Corruption will interfere in everything and affect economic development, politics and social development.”

He also took a dig at former prime minister Najib Razak and his “malu apa bosku” persona, saying that there is a need to shift from the culture of shamelessness.

“This is a culture fostered by Najib and Barisan Nasional. We have to be civilised and not be shameless,” he said.

On economic development, Dr Mahathir said it is high time Malaysia moved away from foreign direct investments to domestic large investments.

“By doing this, we can rely on local investments but in a big way. We have a lot of raw materials that we have not exploited,” he said.

“We will reduce the export of untreated raw material. We should add value to what we export. We should export products made from rubber, palm oil, tin and even rare earth.

“Rare earth can be a source of riches if we know how to exploit the deposits in Malaysia.”

Pejuang previously announced that it will be going it alone in Johor instead of cooperating with other opposition parties.

“We think we have a good chance. As for the opposition, they are all fighting each other. Their struggle is who will become menteri besar, not what is best for Johor,” Dr Mahathir said.

“There is a difference between them and us. We have good candidates and I think we can provide the leaders needed in Johor and Malaysia.”

He said many of Pejuang candidates are not well-known politicians but nationalist who want to see change.

Pejuang will announce its candidates tomorrow. – February 23, 2022.