But the 93-year-old, who led Pakatan Harapan to victory in the May 9 polls, said this wasn’t the case and that at times, he too made mistakes and “picked the wrong people”.

“Now I try to learn from my experience, I receive guidance and try to do something, but the situation doesn’t always permit me to succeed,” he said at the Bicara Minda talk organised by Sinar Harian here.

“I’m not a magician, I’m just a normal man,” said Mahathir, adding that he tried to solve problems by thinking them through.

However, he acknowledged that even then, there would be times when his decisions might not go down well with everyone.

Mahathir said his second stint as prime minister was much harder than the first and that this time around, he wasn’t leading a dominant party like before.

Then, he said, he was confident of getting the support for whatever the government proposed but with PH, it was different as it was made up of four parties with different ideologies, hopes and perceptions.

“In making a decision, I can’t always be sure it is what the majority wants, but there is a process of convincing the others on whether a solution to a problem is suitable or not.

“I have to be tolerant of the others’ views. If I want to become a dictator it’s easy. But if we want to succeed we must listen to the views of others,” he said to laughter from the floor.

He also spoke on his Cabinet members, some of whom he had previously said he was not satisfied with.

“Some asked me if I’m unhappy with them, I have to persuade them. In the past, I inherited an experienced Cabinet when I first became PM, only I was ‘new’, the others were experienced.”

Now, he said only him and Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, and a few others were experienced, and that there was a need to adapt to the different situation to succeed.

Mahathir also said while there would be no “formal” school for the Cabinet ministers, there are ongoing efforts to improve their performance.

This includes training courses to guide them on what they can and cannot say, and how to be a better minister.

He also reiterated that PKR’s Port Dickson MP Anwar Ibrahim would succeed him as prime minister.

“I promise after I resign, Anwar will take over,” he said, referring to his former protege who has been selected by PH to be the country’s 8th prime minister.