KUALA LUMPUR — Discussions of the deadly 1985 police raid on a Muslim sect in Memali, Kedah were worthless if those responsible do not apologise or compensate the victims, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said today.
Hadi claimed the main cause of the violence at the recent Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum featuring former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the dissatisfactory answer the latter gave to the Memali incident that had resulted in the deaths of PAS leader Ibrahim Mahmud, 13 villagers and four police officers in the remote village near Baling.
“At that time, Ustaz Ibrahim Mahmud and his associates were blamed, instead of those who always insulted Islam and its precepts that had greatly angered Ustaz Ibrahim and his associates,” Hadi said in a statement.
“Many civil servants, the police and Umno did not agree with the approach that had sacrificed the police who were forced [to take action] and led to attacks against Ustaz Ibrahim and his associates. We hope that those who were forced will also be martyrs; this is a precept under Islam,” added the head of the Islamist Opposition party.
According to reports, then-Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam had ordered a team of around 200 police officers to lay siege on the remote village near Baling that was occupied by around 400 of the sect’s members, led by Muslim preacher Ibrahim who was also known as Ibrahim Libya.
The siege was originally meant to detain Ibrahim under the Internal Security Act, but led to a clash that killed 18 people.
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Hadi thanked those who had asked for an explanation at the Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum about the Memali incident.
“Those who were unable to answer should not be angry and other people should not have caused trouble. The youths should not be solely blamed; those who had caused it should also be blamed,” he said.
Three teenagers were remanded yesterday in an investigation for rioting and possession of weapons at the Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum organised by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) last Sunday.
The forum in Shah Alam was disrupted by some who set off flares and threw shoes towards the stage when PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir was taking questions from the audience, leading to a mass brawl.
MEANWHILE, the Rakyat Post reported on March 31, 2014:
Tun Musa Hitam has refused to comment further on his revelation that former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in the country during and 2 to 3 days after the 1985 Memali incident.
The Rakyat Post called the former Deputy Prime Minister today to seek a clarification after checks with the New Straits Times (NST) archives found a photo of Musa sending off Dr Mahathir at the airport on Nov 20, 1985.
The caption on the photo said that Dr Mahathir was going off to China.
Musa admitted he had been receiving many calls from people seeking his comments. He said, however, he would be issuing a statement soon, but not just yet.
Last Thursday, Musa had alleged at a political forum in Kota Baru that Dr Mahathir was in Kuala Lumpur and “continued to stay 2 to 3 days” in the city after the 1985 incident.
Previously, it was reported that Dr Mahathir had been in China at the time, leading a delegation there after the country established diplomatic relations with the republic years before that.
In an earlier report, The Rakyat Post managed to get hold of one of the delegation members of the 1985 China trip. The delegation member, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he remembered the trip although not the exact date as it was almost 30 years ago, but confirmed Dr Mahathir was present.
Several newspaper articles found in online archives also placed Dr Mahathir in China during the period Musa claimed the former was in Kuala Lumpur.
The Singapore Straits Times, on Nov 20, 1985, carried an article from Bernama titled “Mahathir to call on Zhao today”, referring to Zhao Ziyang, the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.
Several figures have called for the Memali incident to be reinvestigated, with DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang asking for royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to be set up, following Musa’s recent claim.
Today, PAS information chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar called for a fresh investigation, saying that Musa’s claim had given the picture of a conspiracy that was carried out “very discreetly”.
Online news portal The Malaysian Insider today reported that former city CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim called Musa’s claim as “new evidence”, saying that it was “sufficient basis for investigations to be reopened”. –http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/03/31/musa-keeping-mum-for-now-on-fresh-memali-claim/
THE MALAY MAIL / THE RAKYAT POST
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