‘Don’t smoke and drink too much to stay healthy’
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave the French community based in Malaysia some friendly advice on how to stay healthy at an advanced age – don’t smoke and don’t drink too much.
The Prime Minister, 94, said he had written an article on how to keep healthy.
“I must admit that in that article I missed out two important things. I talked about not eating too much, exercising, being active and engaging in activities like reading and writing.
“But I forgot two things ... no smoking and not drinking too much!” he said to the laughter of his audience comprising representatives of French companies based in Malaysia.
At a dialogue session organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry France Malaysia, the Prime Minister said the best way to remain active at an advanced age was to engage in talks and debates so that the brain could function well.
“The truth is I am more active at 94 than I was when I was in my 60s. You must force yourself to get up and be active,” he added.
On the development of cars, the Prime Minister said while new technologies were being developed to make driving safer and environmentally friendly, the future should see fewer cars on the road.
“There should be better public transportation and this is what we are trying to do in Kuala Lumpur.
“We have built the LRT, MRT and the monorail in order to take cars off the street and encourage the people to take public transport,” he said.
The Prime Minister was also asked on how Malaysia planned to deal with carbon footprints and boost the use of renewable energy.
“We are committed to reducing carbon emissions to ensure we breathe cleaner air.
“We need to make use of renewable energy that is actually free to us. We can make use of the sun, the wind and even the waves to generate power for consumption,” he pointed out. all