Mahathir, 73, who has ruled Malaysia for 17 years, has not only tightened his political grip after sacking his deputy Anwar Ibrahim in early September, but also imposed capital controls to insulate the economy from external volatility.

The moves will, he hopes, help him avoid the fate of Suharto, who was toppled in May after 32 years in power following riots amid Indonesia's economic crisis.

Two weeks ago Mahathir issued an appeal for public support as he defended the controversial capital controls and expressed confidence that Malaysia would rebound next year from recession.

Predicting 1.0 percent gross domestic product growth in 1999 after a contraction of 4.8 percent this year, he said Malaysia's doors remained open to foreign investors despite the restrictions imposed in September.

Known as a West-bashingpolitician who never minces his words, Mahathir plays the role of spokesman for developing countries to the dismay of many industrial economies, in particular the United States.

``I'm certainly not the darling of the international community because if they do something wrong, I am going to say it is wrong,'' the prime minister said last week.

``There are people who praise them and become their darling ... I do not care to be anybody's darling,'' said Mahathir. He believes he now gets a bad press for standing up to the West. ``I cannot help but feel that the international, or more precisely the Western media, would like to teach Malaysia a lesson, to pull it down a few pegs more,'' he said. Trained as a physician -- he is known as `Dr M' -- Mahathir has already left an indelible mark on Malaysia as a strong-willed leader determined to bend institutions such as the Press to his will.

From his early days as an outspoken activist for Malays thrown out of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)for criticising the party leadership, Mahathir has demonstrated both a short temper and a talent for thwarting opponents.

Mahathir was sacked from the party in 1969 for going against then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and accusing him of betraying the Malay community.

But he worked his way back into UMNO and doggedly rose to power. He has brooked little opposition to his own leadership of UMNO, most recently turning on supporters of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim within the party.

Mahathir was born in Alor Setar, capital of the northern Kedah state. His father was a schoolteacher who had migrated from southern India and married a Malay woman. Mahathir qualified in medicine at the University of Malaya, then located in Singapore, and entered politics in April 1964 as a member of parliament for Kedah.

He has been prime minister since 1981 following the retirement of Hussein Onn.

The prime minister's political success was tainted in April 1987 when he was challenged by Tengku RazaleighHamzah for the post of party president.

Then in February 1988 the high court declared UMNO illegal because some of its branches were not validly registered. Mahathir immediately formed UMNO Baru (New UMNO) and Razaleigh set up the rival Semangat 46.

Mahathir's political astuteness was again demonstrated when Razaleigh disbanded his party and returned to UMNO in 1996.

Anwar's sudden political demise on September 2 has shocked his supporters who claim that the allegations against him are a result of his attempt to challenge Mahathir as well as disagreements over economic policies.

Mahathir sacked Anwar, 51, as deputy prime minister and finance minister on September 2 and subsequently had him arrested under tough security laws for leading increasingly large anti-government rallies.

Anwar was charged with five counts of corruption and five of sexual misconduct, which he dismisses as politically motivated. Four of the corruption charges are to be heard from Monday. Mahathir had made it clear that thesacking of his one-time heir had less to do with the charges than the fact that he saw Anwar as no longer suitable to lead the country because of alleged moral shortcomings.