Kedah MB suffers mild intestinal complication - State Secretary

Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah is suffering from an intestinal complication but it is not serious, State Secretary Datuk Bakar Din said today.

However, Ahmad Bashah had to be in intensive care to benefit from treatment by specialists, he said, adding that the menteri besar was conscious and in stable condition.

"Once his condition is back to normal in a day or two, he will be transferred to the normal ward for further observation," he told a press conference at the Kedah Medical Centre here.

Ahmad Bashah was rushed to the KMC after he felt dizzy while attending a meeting with state assemblymen at the Grand Alora Hotel at about 7pm.

Asked how long Ahmad Bashah would be on leave, Bakar said no period of leave had been set as it would depend on his health.

Bakar did not rule out the possibility that Ahmad Bashah was suffering from fatigue due to a tight programme that involved his going to the ground to meet the people.

The menteri besar had not collapsed as reported on social media, he said, and called on the people to pray for his well-being.

He said the people should refrain from visiting Ahmad Bashah for the moment as he needed to have complete rest.

Asked whether Ahmad Bashah would have to undergo surgery, Bakar said that would depend on the specialists.

He also said that the state administration would function as usual with the assistance of senior state executive councillors and state government officers.

Only the state executive council meeting, which is chaired by Ahmad Bashah, had been postponed, he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Kedah Council of Regency, Tan Sri Tunku Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, and his wife Toh Puan Temenggong Datuk Seri Tengku Maliha Tengku Ariff, visited Ahmad Bashah at the KMC at 1.20pm.

State executive councillors, state assemblymen and D'Herbs founder Datuk Aliff Syukri Kamaruzzaman also visited the menteri besar.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Bashah's wife, Datin Seri Hizam Awang Ahmad, who was approached as she visited him, said her husband had been fasting since midnight in preparation for an internal examination.

"He is in the ICU but his condition is not critical. He is not allowed to eat at the moment. The doctors are only giving him water and glucose and medicines," she said.

Hizam said Ahmad Bashah gave priority to his health but since becoming the menteri besar he had been going to be bed late because of his tight work schedule.

"It is normal for him to go to bed at 2am. Then, he is up again at 6am. But, he has not complained of being ill or tired," she told reporters.