KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 ― No political party should be in power forever, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today, adding that a “fairly strong” opposition is needed to ensure good governance.

Speaking in front of Muslim delegates at the KL Summit, the Kedah-born who was in office for 22 years ― the longest of any of the six prime ministers to date ― also said that an ideal political system for a country would be just to have two main political parties.

“No party should rule forever,” he said.

“The best way is for a country to have just two political parties, this will ensure that one party will win a majority to form the government.

“For good governance, the opposition must be fairly strong,” Dr Mahathir added.

The 90-year-old told reporters later that he was not referring to Malaysia in his speech and that he was speaking in the context of Muslim countries worldwide.

In his speech, Dr Mahathir also told delegates that democracy in itself was not perfect and only worked if people understood its limits.

“They must understand that democracy is not perfect, it works only when people know the limits and not to resort to violence if they are frustrated,” he said.

But Dr Mahathir also said that people may resort using violence as a means to protest against an unfair government as a last resort.

“If all fails, violent protests may be resorted,” he said.