VIP visitor: Abdul Hadi arriving at the Penang General Hospital to visit Azizan.

GEORGE TOWN: Former Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak has gone into surgery to amputate both his legs.

The Kedah PAS commissioner entered the operating theatre at 6.30pm yesterday for the three hour surgery.

His press secretary Mohd Helmi Khalid said both of Azizan's legs had to be amputated below the knee to prevent the infection from spreading.

Azizan's family agreed to the surgery earlier in the afternoon after a discussion with PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, who paid a visit to the ailing Sungai Limau assemblyman in the hospital.

“He was able to consume soft food and speak softly in the morning. His blood level was normal and his heart is also okay,” said Mohd Helmi.

He said Azizan, 69, suffered from diabetes and started feeling pain on both his legs on Sunday night just as the results of the general election were announced.

However, Azizan only went to the Kedah Medical Centre the next day, where he was initially admitted into a normal ward before being transferred to the intensive care unit on the same night.

At 9.15pm on Tuesday, Azizan was transferred to the intensive care unit in Penang Hospital.

He slipped into a coma at 5.30am the next day.

Former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, who visited Azizan yesterday, urged Malaysians to pray for his quick recovery.

Other visitors included new Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakcop and former Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

Azizan retained the Sungai Limau seat for the fifth term.

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