Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would bow out as prime minister before the next general election.
The 94-year-old Malaysian prime minister came to power for the second time following his Pakatan Harapan coalition’s victory in the May 2018 general election.
“I promise that I would step down before the next election and give way to another candidate. So, I may have at the most three years perhaps,” he said at a dialogue held at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Thursday.
The next general election is due in 2023.
During that three years, Mahathir said that he needed to accomplish a few things.
He is in town for the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The prime minister said work was very tough now and that he was currently working 18 hours a day.
“This is because I don’t have much time,” said the Pakatan Harapan chairperson who is renowned for being a hardworking individual.
Mahathir, who returned to the top post in May last year, had previously stated that he would step down after about two years in power.
Under an agreement struck by Pakatan Harapan leaders, the 94-year-old is to hand over power to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim on an unspecified date.
Mahathir has also repeatedly said he will keep his promise once the country is “on an even keel”.
Earlier this month, Anwar told Bloomberg Television that he expects to take over from Mahathir by next year.
Mahathir, meanwhile, said he could not be sure if his successor would do well, citing his disappointment with his replacement when he stepped down in 2003.
“I cannot guarantee that somebody who succeeds me will do well, or maybe not too well.
“I cannot guarantee. But we can put in place the right machinery. If you work within the system, I think we can achieve the goal of developed status by 2030,” he said.