Ronald Reagan of the United States and Margaret Thatcher of Britain have withdrawn from the public eye, but their contemporary, Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, is as in-your-face as ever.

Reagan and Thatcher may claim to have won the Cold War when they were president and prime minister, but Mahathir, who became Malaysia's leader in 1981 when the two Westerners were both rookies in their jobs, is now fighting the new war - over Islam and terrorism.

Reagan, 94, has Alzheimer's disease and graciously withdrew from public life several years ago, soon to be followed by Thatcher, 79, once known as the Iron Lady for her strident anti-Soviet line.

Acknowledging Muslim Mahathir's status as a competitive international loudmouth, Thatcher once said it was a good thing he was a man because "he would have been lethal with a handbag".

Tongue, mind still sharp

In an interview with AFP Thursday, Mahathir, the same age as Thatcher, said he was enjoying his retirement since he stepped down as prime minister last October, but made it clear that his tongue remained as sharp as his mind.

He said George W Bush, the current US president had "a closed mind" and was responsible for escalating terrorism around the world because he failed to understand that invading Iraq would make the situation worse rather than better.

Mahathir had already seen off, with varying degrees of scorn, Reagan's two terms, Bush senior, and eight years of Bill Clinton.

Like Reagan and the younger Bush, who is more than 20 years his junior, Mahathir likes riding horses and he said one of the most interesting things he had done recently was ride in the Andes - eight hours a day - during a visit to South America.

So what keeps him young?

"Everybody wants to know 'What pill?'," he said. "I just take ordinary vitamins."

"I am still working, I need to work otherwise I will fade away.

"I eat everything but in moderation. Of course some people don't think I am a moderate because I lash out at everything."

Light exercise

His doctor was interrogated on whether he had plastic surgery, he said with a laugh, and admitted only to some light exercise.

"I still get up early in the morning but I come to the office a little bit late now. I spend my time at home before coming here, writing mainly.

"When I feel like it I come here to attend to some correspondence, mainly invitations to give talks."

Mahathir said his campaigning for the ruling Barisan Nasional ahead of Sunday's elections was his political swansong as he was not even standing for parliament.

"Apart from that I am not going to be interfering in policies, or appointments, whatever. I have distanced myself completely from the leadership in that sense.

"I will be more free after the elections, I will not be a member of parliament anymore. But from the number invitations that I get, I will be quite busy writing speeches."

Mahathir said he was also planning to write a memoir. - AFP