Former Malaysian prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has expressed gratitude for the decades he spent with his late wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, while saying he remains too weak to resume his usual duties three weeks after her death.

In a statement on Monday, the 101-year-old said he had tried returning to his office over the past couple of days but had not yet regained sufficient strength.

“I have tried going to the office over the past day or two, but I am still not quite strong enough,” he said.

Reflecting on the prayers and support he had received following his wife’s death, Mahathir said they reminded him to remain grateful to Allah for the many years they had spent together, despite the pain of losing her.

“The prayers remind me, amid such painful grief, to remain grateful to Allah SWT for having lent me Hasmah for so many years, until I have reached an age at which only a little of my own life remains,” he said.

He thanked those who helped with the funeral arrangements and members of the public who continued to visit his wife’s grave to offer prayers. He said the support from people near and far had deeply touched him during his period of mourning.

Mahathir also apologised to those whose greetings he had been unable to acknowledge, whose waves he had not returned and whose condolence messages he had yet to answer.

Siti Hasmah died at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur on September 28 at the age of 100. She was buried the same day at the National Heroes’ Mausoleum in Putrajaya, where she was accorded state dignitary honours. The couple had seven children.