Malaysia's Mahathir recovering after heart surgery

KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 4 (Reuters) Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, 82, underwent heart bypass surgery today and was recovering in intensive care, his family and hospital officials said.

It was the second heart bypass for Mahathir, the country's longest-serving premier, and followed two heart attacks over the past 10 months. He had heart surgery in 1989 while in office.

''He is already conscious,'' sister-in-law Saleha Ali told reporters outside the Kuala Lumpur hospital where Mahathir was operated on by a team of surgeons, including a US specialist.

Asked if she was happy with his recovery, she added: ''We are praying, we are leaving it to god.'' Mahathir's daughter, Marina Mahathir, later said her father was in a stable condition in the hospital's intensive-care unit after four to five hours in surgery.

''Everything went according to plan,'' she told reporters, though she said she was not yet able to speak to him.

The family felt hugely relieved and there were some tears but ''not big dramas,'' she said. ''I feel good, very relieved, very tired, so I am going to go home and get some sleep.'' The hospital, a specialist heart clinic set up after Mahathir's first bypass, said the 5-{ hour operation was successful and doctors would monitor the former premier's condition for the next few days.

''The next 48 hours is the crucial period in his post-operative care and hence he will be under close observation,'' the hospital said in a statement. ''Overnight he will be fully sedated.'' Mahathir ruled for 22 years before retiring in late 2003 and remains an influential political figure, even though he has fallen out with his hand-chosen successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, over policy changes made since his retirement.

Despite Mahathir's criticisms, Abdullah pays public homage to the political legacy of his predecessor and political experts say he is careful not to reverse too many of Mahathir's policies or pet projects to avoid more confrontations.

REUTERS PD BD1718