Malaysia's five-year-old currency peg is set to be a legacy of outgoing Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who describes it as a "long-term solution" to fight manipulation by rogue currency traders.

In an exclusive interview with AFP , Mahathir outlined his economic vision for Malaysia, pledged no government intervention for a second round of banking mergers and said decades-old economic privileges for the majority ethnic Malays were likely to stay for a long time.

The veteran leader, who will retire in October, reflected on how he grappled with what he called the toughest moments in his 22 years in office - the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis when he bucked conventional wisdom by instituting capital controls and fixing the ringgit at 3.80 to the dollar.

Mahathir, who is also finance minister, said the currency peg had "saved Malaysia from a lot of trouble" and there was no plan to float the ringgit again.