Malaysia's New Leader Shows that 92 Isn't Really So Old

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11 May 2018 10:19 WIB

Mahathir Mohamad reacts as he speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 10, 2018. The longtime strongman was born when silent films still packed movie theaters and Adolf Hitler was still a fringe politician. It was 1926, and his homeland was known as British Malaya. AP Photo/Andy Wong

11 Mei 2018 00:00 WIB

Mahathir Mohamad smiles during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, May 10, 2018. Now Mahathir Mohamad is 92 years old. He is also Malaysia's newest prime minister. It's been 37 years since he first had the job, and 15 since he retired from it. AP Photo/Adrian Hoe

11 Mei 2018 00:00 WIB

President of Justice Party Wan Azizah, left, speaks with Mahathir Mohamad after a press conference at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 10, 2018. All of that raises an obvious question: How old is too old to run a country? Mahathir, for one, insists he has time left. "I am, of course, quite old. No, I am very old," he said in an April interview with The Associated Press. "But I can still function." AP Photo/Andy Wong

11 Mei 2018 00:00 WIB

Mahathir Mohamad reacts as he speaks during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 10, 2018. He's right about that. Mahathir has had two coronary bypass surgeries, but still has a reasonably full head of hair. He has a forceful presence, a love of political brawling, and a fondness for jokes. He could easily pass for someone 20 years younger. He doesn't hide his age. AP Photo/Andy Wong

11 Mei 2018 00:00 WIB

Mahathir Mohamad shows a letter endorsed him as premier during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, May 10, 2018. Age has long been an issue for politicians. Ronald Reagan faced plenty of questions about his mental abilities when he ran for U.S. president in 1980, and he was just 69 years old. AP Photo/Adrian Hoe

11 Mei 2018 00:00 WIB

Mahathir Mohamad arrives for a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 10, 2018. Robert Mugabe was ridiculed as Zimbabwe's "dinosaur," a man consumed by greed and power who refused to give way to a younger generation, until being pushed out at age 93. During the Cold War the U.S. warily watched a Soviet leadership dominated by men in their 70s and 80s, some of whom seemed to be barely clinging to life. AP Photo/Andy Wong

11 Mei 2018 00:00 WIB