Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad says he will not quit as adviser to Proton and Petronas voluntarily, adding that he prefers to be kicked out.

The Star reported that when asked if he would relinquish the positions, he said: 'It may be an option, if I feel that I have to do so. But I prefer if they kick me out.'

'As far as I am concerned, if they want to take away my positions, they are welcome, as I am not dependent on that and not even if they give me RM15,000 (S$6,000) a month. I am not interested. So any time they say get out, I will get out, no problem,' he added.

Tun Dr Mahathir is also an adviser to the Langkawi Development Authority and the Tioman Island Development Authority.

He had been asked about the posts he held because he was no longer a member of Umno following his exit from the party on May21.

His son Mokhzani was asked by Youth and Sports Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to step down as Sepang International Circuit chairman after he left the party.

Dr Mahathir also attacked the government's performance at the International Court of Justice hearing on the dispute over Pedra Branca with Singapore.

'We were hoping that the government would send a effective delegation. Singapore sent their Chief Justice and a lawyer who used to work with the United Nations. We only sent our Attorney-General, who is not very famous,' Malaysiakini News website reported him as saying.

'(The court) made a decision that baffles me. If we scrutinise the verdict, it is strange that Pulau Batu Puteh (Pedra Branca) was awarded to Singapore, because (Middle Rocks) that is further south from Batu Puteh was awarded to us.'

Referring to a letter which was written by a Johor official admitting that Pedra Branca did not belong to Malaysia, Dr Mahathir said the Malaysian legal team did not question the official's authority in issuing the letter.

'The letter was written by an official before independence to a British officer in Singapore. Our official was probably not independent and was advised by the British to verify that Batu Puteh was not ours,' he said.