I think I may have made some mistakes, but I can't regret the decisions that I have made

Dr Mahathir speaking on Monday

In an era when political leaders tend to pay as much attention to their image and popular appeal as to their policies, the 75-year-old Dr Mahathir is very much the exception to the rule.

During his years in power, he has never concealed the abrasive side to his character.

At the general assembly of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) in June, he castigated the party's supporters - and Malays in general - as lazy, ungrateful and greedy.

If any of his audience were offended, it mattered not a jot to the prime minister.

Economic Advancement

Single-mindedness and an unswerving commitment to the economic advancement of the majority ethnic Malay community have been among the hallmarks of his long career.

The one-time village doctor has presided over Malaysia's transformation from an impoverished backwater, dependent on tin and rubber exports, to become one of Asia's most developed economies.

Tilting at his enemies - both at home and abroad - has been intrinsic to the process that cemented Dr Mahathir's grip on power.

Anwar Ibrahim was jailed after falling out with Mahathir

His strident criticism of the West and of institutions like the IMF have raised his stature in the developing world.

It went down well at home too, at least until 1998, when the dismissal and subsequent jailing of his popular heir-apparent, Anwar Ibrahim, provoked the biggest political crisis of his rule.

Cronyism

Since then Umno's declining popularity, allegations of cronyism and the growing assurance of the Islamist opposition party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (Pas), have clouded the Mahathir legacy.

The prime minister's aim is to leave office with that legacy re-burnished.

The Islamist opposition is gaining popularity while Umno declines

Whether that is achievable before the next general election, due in 2004, is the subject of much speculation.

Dr Mahathir's most recent pronouncement on the issue - to the effect that Malaysia would not get rid of him easily - suggests that, health permitting, he intends to hold onto power for some time yet.