Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad marked a historic milestone as he turned 100 on Thursday, calling the moment “quite frightening”, without showing signs of slowing down. A towering figure in Malaysian politics, Mahathir is known for his transformative and at times controversial leadership.

First serving as the nation’s fourth prime minister from 1981 to 2003, and then returning as its seventh from 2018 to 2020, Mahathir has been the country’s longest-serving and oldest-serving prime minister. 

He remains remarkably active and after birthday wishes from his family, turned up early for work at his Putrajaya office. Mahathir attributed his longevity to neither smoking nor overeating and exercising his brain.