Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim believes that being a "dead democrat" is better than those who despise Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He was responding to Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong, who had labelled those who wanted Mahathir to be prime minister again as "dead democrats".

Kua pointed out that Mahathir, during his tenure as prime minister, had used the now defunct Internal Security Act 1960, which allowed for detention without trial, in a crackdown codenamed "Ops Lalang" to assail the judiciary and allow the deterioration of democratic institutions.

Repeating his call on the 92-year-old politician to atone for his past misdeeds, the Suaram adviser described Mahathir as a "born again democrat".

In a Twitter posting this morning, Zaid said: "Me 'walking dead democrat?' Maybe, but a lot better than Mahathir haters. Dead democrats forgive and forget, haters just hate."