Mar 12, 2013-The discovery that he has three clogged arteries in his heart has forced former private eye P Balasubramaniam to suspend his participation in the general election campaign for Pakatan Rakyat.
PI Bala, as he is better known, has been warded for treatment at a private hospital in Selangor since March 3.
He first experienced chest pains while campaigning in Kota Bharu on March 1.
Although he had felt better after a painkilling injection then, he experienced more pain on his way back from Kelantan, he told Malaysiakini yesterday.
Bala said he had shrugged it off and gone on to another speaking engagement in Damansara, Selangor, on March 2 but that he had felt worse that night.
“I was very tired. I was sleeping, but early (the next) morning at about 5, I couldn’t breathe. If I (sat up, I could breathe) okay, if I (lay) down I (couldn’t),” he related, saying he decided to go for a check up at the hospital.
Since his return from Chennai, India, late last month, Bala has been hitting the ground, campaigning for Pakatan.
His role has been to explain what he knows about the alleged involvement of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and those close to Najib in the events surrounding the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Najib himself has strenuously denied any such involvement.
Bala came to prominence after filing two contradictory statutory declarations relating to Altantuya’s murder and then fleeing the country, ostensibly for his own safety.
Members of his family, who had flown in to visit him, were in the hospital room with him.
Bala, who sported a slightly unkempt beard, appeared to be high spirits despite his weak physical condition.
“(When) the doctor (says) one part of your heart has stopped beating, what would you feel?” he asked, still managing to flash a smile.
He pledged to continue serving in Pakatan’s GE13 campaign if he was able to.
“No, no, this is not going to stop me from campaigning. I am definitely going to come back… This is a small matter,” he said.
However, Bala was practical enough to concede that, if there were health complications, he will not be able to do so.
He has already missed speaking engagements in Johor Bharu on March 6 and in Sabah on March 9.
Silver lining
Due to be discharged today, Bala will return to hospital for a follow-up check after a week on medication to reduce clotting in his veins.
His doctor will then decide if he needs to undergo stenting or open heart bypass surgery to correct his condition.
If Bala only requires stenting – a procedure to introduce mesh ‘tubes’ to open up his clogged veins via small incisions – he may be able to return to campaigning.
If a heart bypass is required, the recovery time could stretch beyond the date of the GE, which must be held by June 28.Bala said he had just become comfortable with talking to a mass audience after his maiden appearance at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Feb 28.
He believes that the people’s support for Pakatan is stronger than ever and will lead to its electoral victory.
The doughty former police Special Branch officer also sees a silver lining in this grey episode.
“This is good. If I didn’t come back for the campaign, I might not have known (about my heart condition). I might have stayed in India. I might have died silently.”
