He said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration would prioritise efforts to restore the wealth of the country and rescue its economy within this time frame.

“Now we are the government. The first thing we have to do is to solve some of the problems created by the previous government.

“The previous government borrowed huge sums of money, more than RM1 trillion. It is tough on us, but in one or two years we can reduce the amount,” he said at a dialogue with members of the Asia Society here, moderated by former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd.

Mahathir said no country should accumulate debt beyond its means, voicing surprise that the previous administration had allowed this to happen.

He said his government had cancelled and reviewed a number of costly projects, which contributed to a reduction in the overall debt.

These included the China-backed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) projects.

“We are still trying (to negotiate), and I feel the contractors in China are not too happy, but they are not objecting too strongly,” he added.

Mahathir also said the government was keen to encourage more foreign direct investment as Malaysia was a good investment location.

During the question-and-answer session, Mahathir said he had wanted to be the education minister in order to revise the country’s education curriculum. However, he said he had been forced to dismiss the idea as he had to abide by the PH election manifesto which stated that the prime minister would not hold other ministerial posts at the same time.

The session saw a light moment about halfway through the interview when Rudd said he regarded Mahathir as a patron saint.

“Very rarely have I seen a leader deliver a 30-minute speech without notes. We regard you as the patron saint of political comebacks,” he said, drawing laughter from the floor.