Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he will not allow Malaysia to flounder and fall as long as he is alive.

"For long as I live, I will try not to allow this nation of ours to flounder and fall, to lose dignity and sense of purpose,” he said.

“We have prevailed in the past and we will hopefully prevail now and, in the future.”

Organisational management conference

The 93-year-old made these comments at a conference on organisational management on Monday, April 29.

Mahathir received the Visionary Leader and Nation Builder Award at the event.

He said he was aware that Malaysia faces many challenges and these can seem insurmountable at times.

Mahathir approval ratings down

Mahathir's approval rating has fallen over the course of one year, following the high of Pakatan Harapan's election victory on May 9, 2018.

The administration has been dealing with heightening concerns over rising costs and racial politics.

Last week, an opinion poll showed 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.

The survey was conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center.

Managing people by finding common ground

On Monday, Mahathir said on Facebook what is important in managing a nation is to find common ground and common purposes, so as to rally people.

He wrote:

When I was the Prime Minister the first round, I was frequently asked what were my secrets in being able to manage a nation which is so diverse that almost each segment has a different set of demands and priorities.

There are no secrets other than the most basic and logical concept when we are dealing with a diverse group of people - we first find what are the common grounds and common purposes.

Once we have established what are the common grounds and purposes, we can build on them and after that, these common grounds and purposes will become the rallying point which we can claim to have achieved unity in diversity.

It sounds easy but I am sure, you are all aware of how difficult it is. Herein lies the actual secrets to it – hard work, determination, purposefulness, drive, focus and giving everyone a hearing among others...