(AFP) Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has completed two decades in power, has promised not to overstay his welcome, Bernama news agency said today.

Bernama quoted the premier as saying in a recent interview with Japan's NHK television that he was ready to step down when the people want him to leave.

"If I can, I would like to step down now but I am not allowed to. I'm not even allowed to talk about it by my colleagues because they say that this is disruptive," Mahathir said.

"But I'm prepared to go whenever people want me to go. I don't want to overstay my welcome."

The belated interview was to mark Mahathir's 20th year in office on July 16. The 75-year-old premier, one of the world's longest serving leaders, had talked earlier of his desire to spend some years away from politics.

Mahathir said his future plans were to keep the country peaceful and stable, and to exert Malaysia's independence amid the advent of globalisation.

The premier, who advocated the Look East Policy in the 1980s, said Japan still remained Malaysia's role model in terms of nation building but it was not a "good" example at the moment.

"What we are seeing in Japan today is a lot of mistakes, and we are going to avoid those mistakes..."

"Japan has decided that it must change the way it does things, it must follow what the West says is the best practice. When you try to change things, you always create destruction," he said without elaborating.