Barely 24 hours after admitting he was a dictator, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad jumped to clear his name, drawing a clear distinction between himself and notorious dictators around the world.

Mahathir took credit at his willingness to step down while other dictators remained in power until they drew their last breath - from being killed or by committing suicide.

"Someone whispered to me, saying,'You are old, give chance to young people. You'd been a prime minister for 22 years. How long you still want to go?" he told a 500-strong gathering in Pandan Indah last night.