Mahathir Mohamad

Mahathir Mohamad gives advice on staying fit at 93

At 93, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is the oldest leader in the world. In May, he made a stunning return to political power, he says in a bid to save his corruption- plagued country before it's too late.

Mahathir was once at the helm of the country for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, becoming Malaysia's longest- serving Prime Minister. In that time, he was credited with transforming Malaysia from an agrarian society to an industrialized nation. In the process, he ruled the country with an iron fist -- locking up political opponents and censoring the press.

CNN's Talk Asia sat down with the elder statesman at the Prime Minister's Office outside the capital of Kuala Lumpur. Well, when I stepped down voluntarily, I thought that I would have a very relaxed time, be with my family and maybe cr u i s e a ro u n d . Unfortunately, the moment I stepped down, my successor decided to change course, adopted new policies and all that. And particularly discarded everything that I have started. So, a lot of people felt unhappy. They all came to see me, asking me "Please, do something, please do something."

We were under the British rule and then the Japanese came in, conquered us and then the Japanese gave our country to the Thais, to the Siamese people. So it looks as if we are just a football that can be kicked around by anybody. I didn't like that. I felt that people don't respect us. I felt that we should be treated as equal with anybody else.

So that is what drove me, that Malaysia can be as good as any other country. I was born here, brought up here and these people around me are the people I have lived with all this time and we have developed a way of life that we ch

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