Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is not known as a leader who is willing to admit his faults.

In his many interviews, he blamed the police or even the courts for the 1998 jailing of Anwar Ibrahim, his former deputy who became a nemesis and now an ally again.

His latest interview with the Wall Street Journal, in conjunction with his visit to the US for the 73rd United Nations General Assembly, was no exception.

Coming back as the seventh prime minister at the age of 93, however, Mahathir appeared to have softened his stance somewhat, acknowledging that there were criticisms levelled against him during his first tenure from 1981 to 2003 that should be considered.

"There were criticisms against the time when I was prime minister for 22 years... and I find some of the criticisms are worth looking into," he said.

Amid the growing 1MDB scandal under the stewardship of his former protégé Najib Abdul Razak, Mahathir had in 2016 sided with the opposition and successfully ended BN's 61 years in power in the May 9 general election.

However, critics have blamed him for causing the decay that allowed subsequent leaders to become embroiled in worse scandals than before.

Convincing new allies

In the WSJ interview, Mahathir remained defensive, but said he wanted to convince his allies in the new government, many of whom he had jailed in the past.

"One of the things that they criticised me about was that I had cronies, and that I helped my cronies.

"They were able to do things. I tend to support people who are capable, who have shown some achievements," he said.

As such, Mahathir said he believed the criticism was unfair and that he was misunderstood, but stressed that he is now willing to listen to his critics-turned-allies.

“Now, since I am with the people who used to criticise me, I want to show them that I’m not what they think I am," he said.

Mahathir was also reluctant to say whether he "liked" the idea of Anwar succeeding him as the eighth prime minister, but said he would comply if that was what the people wanted.

Anwar was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and subsequently jailed on sodomy and corruption charges. 

He was freed in 2004 under Mahathir's successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, but was again sent to jail in 2015 on a sodomy charge under Najib.

Anwar had maintained that both charges were politically motivated.

Mahathir, upon assuming office for the second time, helped to secure a royal pardon for Anwar.

The two men had reconciled ahead of the 14th general election, forming an alliance that led to the country's first change in government since independence.