The government of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is facing turbulent times, with fissures in the ruling coalition appearing on various fronts. But the PM managed to take time off to ride a bicycle and drive a new Proton car around town.

He surprised folks in Putrajaya, the administrative city of Malaysia, with an early morning 11km ride on Sunday.

He posted a brief video on his official YouTube channel and the video was also trending on his official Twitter account on Saturday morning.

He wore a helmet with several members of his entourage accompanying him on their bikes, covering 11km in 45 minutes.

This is perhaps the first time he has done a bicycle ride on his own. Before that, he rode a tandem bike frequently. He has in the past gone on a bicycle ride at least once with Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

The Sports minister posted a selfie of their ride around the circuit on Instagram. Dr Mahathir is sitting behind on a tandem bike.

On a Twitter post, he wrote: Pagi tadi berpeluang berbasikal sejauh hampir 11km. Alhamdulillah, terasa segar dan bertenaga. (This morning I had the chance to ride a bicycle for almost 11km. Thank God, I feel fresh and energised.)

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The hard-working Prime Minister on Sunday took a drive around Putrajaya in a new Proton Saga.

The admin of his Twitter account and official Facebook page uploaded a video clip of the PM admiring the body design of the latest Proton model.

He then drove the red-coloured Saga himself accompanied by three passengers.

Earlier this month he drove the Indonesian president Joko Widodo in red-coloured Saga.

The Indonesian president said it impressed him that the 94-year-old leader still has great driving skills.

He then said he did not drive cars but rides motorbikes. -/TISG