FORMER prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi suffers from dementia and does not recognise his family members anymore, according to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. 

Khairy, who is Badawi’s son-in-law, said Pak Lah, as he is fondly known, started showing signs of cognitive impairment shortly after retiring as the fifth prime minister in 2009 and has progressively worsened since then.

“I have never shared this before. Many asked where is Pak Lah? He has dementia and that is why you do not see him in public anymore. It is a cruel condition. The body is there but the mind is not. He is wheelchair-bound. 

“He cannot function normally anymore. He does not remember my name, my wife’s name. The only reason I know he recognises me is through the flicker in his eye when I visit him. 

“There are more bad days than good. So have him in your prayers and we hope for better days ahead,” Khairy was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times at the launch of the Malaysian Conference of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Practice Guidelines on Management of Dementia and Schizophrenia today. – September 11, 2022.