Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong today labelled those wishing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad to be prime minister again, as “walking dead democrats”.

“A few in politics may have forgiven him...but he used Operasi Lalang as pretext for an assault on the judiciary and allowed Malaysia’s democratic institutions to deteriorate (when he was prime minister).

“Mahathir today is a ‘born-again democrat’ while those who want him to be prime minister are ‘walking dead democrats’,” Kua, who was among over 106 people detained without trial under the controversial Ops Lalang in 1987, said at the launch of the 2016 Suaram Human Rights Report on Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) this morning.

He repeated his demand for an apology, as well as “real remorse” and detailed analysis from Mahathir on Ops Lalang as this year marked 30 years since the operation.

"Some have asked me to forgive Mahathir, but the issue is impunity. He needs to atone for it," Kua said.

Suaram will organise an event commemorating the anniversary as the NGO was formed in response to the Ops Lalang detentions, he added.

Launched during the Mahathir administration, the operation saw opposition politicians, NGO activists and even students, detained under the now-abolished Internal Security Act 1950 (ISA) for voicing dissent against the government.

It also saw the shutting down of three newspapers.