Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who made a comeback as prime minister after a previous stint of 22 years, is in a hurry.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mahathir said he hopes to complete as much as he can in the little time that he has.
"Soon I'll be 93 [...] I will try to accomplish as much as possible in the short time given to me," he was quoted as saying.
Mahathir headed BN and Umno from 1981 to 2003 and served as prime minister during the same period.
In 2016, at age 91, Mahathir came out of retirement to lead Pakatan Harapan to defeat his former party in the May 9 general election ending BN's 61-year hold on power since independence.
Amidst concerns about his health and advanced age, the nonagenarian has promised to hand power to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim in "two to three years".
In 1998, Mahathir, during his first stint as prime minister, sacked Anwar after accusing him of sodomy. Anwar, then deputy prime minister, was subsequently jailed.
Mahathir, in the interview, reiterated his commitment to hand over power to Anwar this time but said the latter had to be patient.
"I think he is quite a different man now [...] I think he realises that things do not just go the way you want it to go.
"So he will have to be a bit more patient," said Mahathir.
Anwar has also stressed that he will not rush Mahathir and will in the meantime spend his time on the lecture circuit. - Mkini
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