Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should be the person to decide on whether he would change his mind about retiring this October, said his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.

However, he added that the premier was committed to his plan to step down after chairing the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Kuala Lumpur.

"Dr Mahathir has made the commitment (to step down). However, if there is any room for him to change his mind, it is him to decide and only he knows," Abdullah told a media gathering at the National Press Club of Japan in Tokyo.

"He has made his decision and I accept it," he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report..

The deputy premier who will take over the reigns from Mahathir was responding to a question from a Japanese reporter on whether there was a possibility for the premier to change his mind about retiring.

Abdullah is Mahathir's fourth deputy during his 22 years in office. His last deputy Anwar Ibrahim, whom many believed would succeed the 76-year-old premier, was sacked in 1998 and subsequently jailed on charges of corruption and sodomy.

Anwar, who is serving a 15-year jail sentence, claimed to be the victim of a political conspiracy, but this has been denied.

Abdullah who previously held the Foreign Ministry portfolio was appointed deputy prime minister in 1999. Later, he was also made home minister.

US-M'sia relations

During the dialogue, the deputy premier reiterated Malaysia's stand on issues relating to Malaysia-US relations after the Iraq war, the detention of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Japan-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement and the Asian Bond Market.

He said Malaysia was not anti-American but disagreed with President George W Bush administration's decision to attack Iraq without the consent of the United Nations.

Abdullah stressed that as an independent country, Malaysia had the right to air her opinion and as a democratic country, the US would understand.

The deputy prime minister arrived in Japan yesterday for a three-day official visit at the invitation of the Japanese government.