Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said it is too late for former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad as he has 'missed the boat'.

He said Mahathir, who helmed the nation and Umno for 22 years, should have followed in the footsteps of Singapore's former premier Lee Kuan Yew and remain in the cabinet.

Lee chose to remain in the Singaporean cabinet as minister mentor after serving as prime minister for 31 years.

"Lee Kuan Yew is smarter than Tun (Mahathir) for he chose to remain as a minister mentor after stepping down. In that way, he is still able to contribute to the government and be involved in the country's administration," Zainuddin was quoted as saying by the Star .

The minister, one of Mahathir's closest associates, said Umno and the Malays would choose the current administration if they had to decide between the former premier and his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Uphill struggle

Describing Mahathir as a leader of great calibre, he said the former premier would face an uphill struggle to persuade Umno members to choose between him and Abdullah as the Malays were traditionally patriotic to the government of the day.

"Although Umno and the Malays are saddened by the events which have taken place between Tun (Mahathir) and Pak Lah (Abdullah), they will choose the current leadership if it boils down to making a decision.

"The idealism of the Malays has not digressed from this tradition," he added.

The information minister said incidents which took place during the tenure of former premiers Tunku Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak proved that Umno members would not take risks that might jeopardise the party and leadership.

Over the past months, Mahathir has been on the warpath against Abdullah, whom he chose to replace him as prime minister in 2003.

Openly stating that he has made the wrong choice, the former premier has accused his successor of stifling democracy in Umno and failing to protect the nation's sovereignty.

Mahathir has also alleged that the current Umno leadership is preventing him from meeting party members, but this has been denied.

The former premier is now planning to contest to be a delegate for the Kubang Pasu Umno division in order for him to attend the party's annual meet in Kuala Lumpur as a delegate.