Dr M: Always in a hurry, not much time left to live

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, at 93-years-old is  the oldest head of government in the world, and he says that he knows he does not have long left to live.

“I am lucky I survived this long. Actually, I should not be around to watch what happened with my predecessors but I am lucky in the sense that I am not only older but still able to function.

“But I realise that I am very old, and very soon I will weaken and I will die.

"So, I am always in a hurry. Other people seem to take things easy, but I am in a hurry because I realise I don’t have much time to do the things that I feel need to be done in this country," he said in an interview with Focus Malaysia.

Having been appointed interim prime minister, he acknowledges this, and says he is prepared to leave when the time comes.

"If I am asked to leave, I’ll leave, because no specific date was given. I was only told that I am the choice for prime ministership from the opposition coalition, but they didn’t specify when.

"They have said that I am the interim and that somebody will take over. I suppose that may be long before the next election," he was quoted as saying.

Speaking about the inexperience of some ministers, in the interview he also dismissed talk of a cabinet reshuffle.

“If I go around discharging and replacing them, it is not going to help.

“I have to try and, well, work with them so that they acquire experience, and believe me, some of them have done quite well,” he said.