Nelson Mandela's doctors have rejected the idea of turning off the ailing icon's life support unless he suffers massive organ failure, a close family friend told AFP Friday.
Denis Goldberg -- an anti-apartheid activist who has been Mandela's friend for more than half a century -- said the issue of turning off life support was discussed and ultimately dismissed.
"I was told the matter had been raised and the doctors said they would only consider such a situation if there was a genuine state of organ failure," Goldberg said.
"Since that hasn't occurred they were quite prepared to go on stabilising him until he recovers."
The 80-year-old Goldberg was convicted along with Mandela in 1964 for their fight against white-minority rule.
He visited the former president in hospital on Monday.
A court document filed by a lawyer for Mandela's family nine days ago stated the 94-year-old was "assisted in breathing by a life support machine."
"The Mandela family have been advised by the medical practitioners that his life support machine should be switched off," the court filing read.
"Rather than prolonging his suffering, the Mandela family is exploring this option as a very real probability."
The document - which was designed to press a court to urgently settle a family row over the remains of Mandela's children -- also stated that Mandela was "in a permanent vegetative state."
South Africa's presidency has stated that is not now the case, but has refused to give further details of his condition, citing the need to respect Mandela's privacy.
On the day the document was drafted, President Jacob Zuma abruptly cancelled a trip to Mozambique to confer with Mandela's doctors amid fears the 94-year-old may be close to the end.
Zuma, Mandela family members and his close friends have since reported his condition has improved.
South African presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told AFP on Friday that Zuma's office "had not been party" to the court material and would not speculate on its content.
"We did not file any document and we are not saying that it's true or not true," he said.
Earlier Goldberg said Mandela was "clearly a very ill man, but he was conscious and he tried to move his mouth and eyes when I talked to him."
"He is definitely not unconscious," he added, saying "he was aware of who I was".
Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting white-minority rule and went on to lead the process of racial reconciliation as South Africa's first black president, has now spent a month in hospital after being admitted with a recurrent lung infection.
South Africa's parliament on Friday hosted a prayer service in a Cape Town cathedral where Mandela was hailed as "an icon of a truly free South Africa".
"It is a reflective period for our people," said national assembly deputy speaker NomaIndiya Mfeketo.
"The thought of Madiba in hospital indisposed due to illness is harrowing. This is not what we wish for our beloved hero."
Meanwhile leading South Africans urged Mandela's family to end an increasingly acerbic family feud over the gravesites of three of Mandela's children.
On Thursday Mandela's grandson Mandla launched a tirade at close family members who took him to court to force him to reinter Mandela's children at the revered former South African leader's proposed burial ground in Qunu, his childhood village.
Mandla accused one of his brothers of impregnating his wife and said others were born out of wedlock.
The three bodies were reburied Thursday in Qunu, but the fall-out from the dispute continued to reverberate.
South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu pleaded with Mandela's family not to "besmirch" the former president's name.
"Please, please, please may we think not only of ourselves. It's like spitting in Madiba's face," said Tutu in a statement, using Mandela's clan name.
Presidential spokesman Maharaj also urged the family to solve the increasingly bitter dispute "amicably".
"It is regrettable that there is a dispute going on amongst family members and we'd like that dispute to be resolved as amicably and as soon as possible," he said.
Mandela was rushed to hospital on June 8 with a recurring respiratory infection.
AFP
Sat Jul 06 2013
![Doctors rejected turning off Mandela life support Doctors rejected turning off Mandela life support](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-06/61372029811_295x200.jpg)
Shafie nafi tidak sokong pentadbiran Anwar
Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal sentiasa menyokong pentadbiran Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan hanya membangkitkan hal-hal tertangguh dalam Perjanjian Malaysia 1963 (MA63) demi kepentinganb rakyat Sabah.
OperasI SAR ditangguhkan akibat cuaca buruk
Pencarian dua lagi mangsa tragedi bot karam di Perairan Kemaman ditangguhkan susulan cuaca buruk dan laut bergelora pada petang Ahad.
![Azizulhasni tunai janji kepada keluarga, Paris 2024 terakhir Azizulhasni tunai janji kepada keluarga, Paris 2024 terakhir](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723392456_TBAZIZULHASNI.jpg)
Azizulhasni tunai janji kepada keluarga, Paris 2024 terakhir
"Saya ada banyak perancangan tapi saya cuma mahu berehat, meluangkan masa bersama keluarga dan relaks dahulu."
![Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-12/61703329565_TBBERITAx.jpg)
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Ahad, 11 Ogos 2024.
![Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-03/71709993909_TBBERITAx.jpg)
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Laporan Khas Bulan Kebangsaan: Disiplin fiskal persiapan cabaran masa depan
Laporan Khas Bulan Kemerdekaan Malaysia-Singapura bertemakan pembangunan demi kemakmuran bersama, menyingkap amalan fiskal Singapura dalam mempersiapkan rizab kewangan mencukupi untuk mendepani cabaran-cabaran masa depan.
![Remaja menyamar petugas hospital dirujuk ke JKM - KP Selangor Remaja menyamar petugas hospital dirujuk ke JKM - KP Selangor](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723170613_remajaperempuan.jpg)
Remaja menyamar petugas hospital dirujuk ke JKM - KP Selangor
Remaja perempuan berusia 14 tahun yang ditahan kerana menceroboh dan menyamar sebagai petugas di HSIS Serdang pada Khamis lepas telah dirujuk kepada JKM Sepang untuk tindakan lanjut.
Lukisan kanak-kanak dua tahun cecah nilai 270 ribu Euro
Baru berusia 2 tahun, tetapi karya Laurent telah mencecah hampir 270 ribu Euro, dan dia bakal mempunyai pamerannya tersendiri pada September ini.
Penduduk London kecam gerakan rusuhan
Beberapa penduduk di London telah mengecam rusuhan yang dimulakan beberapa kumpulan berhaluan kanan di United Kingdom, yang tercetus susulan pembunuhan tiga kanak-kanak perempuan di Southport, bulan lepas.
Dalam temubual bersama China Global Television Network (CGTN) kebanyakan daripada mereka tidak bersetuju dengan gerakan tersebut, yang seolah-olah cuba mengenengahkan agenda perkauman dan anti-imigran.
Dalam temubual bersama China Global Television Network (CGTN) kebanyakan daripada mereka tidak bersetuju dengan gerakan tersebut, yang seolah-olah cuba mengenengahkan agenda perkauman dan anti-imigran.
Israel perintah lebih banyak pemindahan di Gaza
Tentera Israel terus mengarahkan perintah pemindahan di Khan Younis di selatan Semenanjung Gaza malam semalam, memaksa puluhan ribu penduduk Palestin dan keluarga terpaksa berpindah untuk meninggalkan kawasan terbabit dalam kegelapan sambil letupan tembakan meriam bergema di sekitar mereka.
![Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Ideologi Nelson Mandela wajar dicontohi dalam misi capai keamanan - Cucu Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Ideologi Nelson Mandela wajar dicontohi dalam misi capai keamanan - Cucu](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/61714003847_Mandela.jpg)
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Ideologi Nelson Mandela wajar dicontohi dalam misi capai keamanan - Cucu
Menurut Manlda Mandela, datuknya pencinta keamanan dan bukan seorang pendendam walaupun selepas berjaya mengalahkan rejim apartheid.
![Dunia memperingati ulang tahun ke-104 Nelson Mandela Dunia memperingati ulang tahun ke-104 Nelson Mandela](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-07/61658125975_NelsonMandela.jpg)
Dunia memperingati ulang tahun ke-104 Nelson Mandela
PBB pada 2009 menetapkan tarikh 18 Julai sebagai Hari Nelson Mandela Antarabangsa untuk meraikan hari lahirnya.
![Bekas Presiden Afrika Selatan, FW de Klerk meninggal dunia Bekas Presiden Afrika Selatan, FW de Klerk meninggal dunia](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2021-11/41636631633_FWdeKlerkdies.jpg)
Bekas Presiden Afrika Selatan, FW de Klerk meninggal dunia
FW de Klerk menjawat jawatan itu bermula September 1989 sehingga Mei 1994.
![Anwar Ibrahim seperti Nelson Mandela - Afdlin Shauki Anwar Ibrahim seperti Nelson Mandela - Afdlin Shauki](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2021-03/61617170187_AfdlinShaukiAnwar.jpg)
"Anwar Ibrahim seperti Nelson Mandela" - Afdlin Shauki
"Seperti mana Nelson Mandela melalui kepayahan sehingga dipenjara, demikian juga dengan Datuk Seri Anwar."
![Bagai X-ray, COVID-19 dedahkan perpecahan dan jurang kekayaan - PBB Bagai X-ray, COVID-19 dedahkan perpecahan dan jurang kekayaan - PBB](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2020-06/71592285508_POTD.jpg)
Bagai X-ray, COVID-19 dedahkan perpecahan dan jurang kekayaan - PBB
Kata Setiausaha Agung PBB Antonio Guterres, 26 individu terkaya di dunia memiliki jumlah kekayaan yang sama dimiliki oleh separuh populasi global.
![Anak perempuan Nelson Mandela meninggal dunia Anak perempuan Nelson Mandela meninggal dunia](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2020-07/81594645198_ZindziMandela.jpg)
Anak perempuan Nelson Mandela meninggal dunia
Bagaimanapun, punca kematian Zindzi Mandela belum lagi dinyatakan.
![Protes kematian George masih belum reda Protes kematian George masih belum reda](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2020-06/51591829642_GEORGEFLOYD.jpg)
Protes kematian George masih belum reda
Protes terhadap kejadian menimpa George Floyd masih belum reda, turut dianjurkan di Eropah.
![Melindungi pelarian: Malaysia gesa penglibatan komuniti dunia - Saifuddin Melindungi pelarian: Malaysia gesa penglibatan komuniti dunia - Saifuddin](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2018-09/71537876664_TBkomunitidunia.jpg)
Melindungi pelarian: Malaysia gesa penglibatan komuniti dunia - Saifuddin
Malaysia berpandangan supaya komuniti dunia memainkan peranan sepenuhnya serta kolektif bagi melindungi pelarian.
![Cucu Nelson Mandela jemput aktivis remaja Palestin ke Afrika Selatan Cucu Nelson Mandela jemput aktivis remaja Palestin ke Afrika Selatan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2018-08/51533122932_TBTAMIMITAMPAR.jpg)
Cucu Nelson Mandela jemput aktivis remaja Palestin ke Afrika Selatan
Cucu lelaki ikon hak asasi manusia Nelson Mandela, Mandla Mandela, akan menjemput aktivis remaja Palestin, Ahed Tamimi ke Afrika Selatan untuk menerima anugerah istimewa.
![Petisyen calonkan Tun Mahathir terima Hadiah Nobel Keamanan Petisyen calonkan Tun Mahathir terima Hadiah Nobel Keamanan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2018-05/41527428617_TunM.jpg)
Petisyen calonkan Tun Mahathir terima Hadiah Nobel Keamanan
Perdana Menteri Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sekali lagi menjadi tumpuan petisyen apabila petisyen dalam talian melobi Tun Mahathir dicalonkan bagi Hadiah Nobel Keamanan tahun ini.