Zainon Ismail, who managed a fund for the tragedy’s victims, says there are irregularities involving the over RM1 million collected to help families of victims.
KUALA LUMPUR: An activist who was tasked with managing a special fund set up by PAS to help families involved in the Kampung Memali incident has warned that a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the tragedy would hurt the party’s current and former leaders including those now with Amanah.
Zainon Ismail, who managed the Memali Fund before he was expelled from the party in 2001, said PAS would face problems because the probe would unravel issues related to the fund which had amassed more than RM1 million, but which he claimed had been funnelled away.
He said he had lodged a police report on the alleged misappropriation in 2000.
“I specifically cited the name of one individual in the report,” he told FMT.
“I knew the information in detail as I managed the fund. I knew because I recorded every donation received from the public,” said Zainon.
He said former PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who now leads Amanah, was also aware of the issue.
“He had promised to resolve the case. He knew that there was money diverted away from the fund,” added Zainon, who is better known in PAS circles as CN Afghani for his involvement with the Mujahideen group in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in the 1980s.
Yesterday, Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, said the money in the fund was distributed among the victims’ kin and that Kedah PAS had more details on this.
The Memali Fund was set up in 1986 to help families of the victims, many of whom were PAS members, as well as to help them cover the legal cost in their suit against the government.
Contributions were collected through four channels – party organ Harakah, the PAS central committee, Kedah PAS and the Madrasah Islahiah Diniah in Kampung Memali.
‘Where did RM65,000 go?’
FMT understands that the Memali Fund was closed by PAS in 2002.
But four years ago, Zainon questioned the whereabouts of some RM65,000 that he said was still in the fund when it was closed.
He claimed that he had informed Mat Sabu about alleged misappropriations in 1999, but no action was taken.
“After I lodged a police report on the individual concerned in 2000, Mat Sabu vehemently opposed it and in fact smeared my name at rallies across the country,” he told FMT.
The Memali incident of Nov 19, 1985 saw a massive police siege on a village in Baling, Kedah which ended with 14 residents and 4 police officers killed.
Violence erupted when hundreds of villagers put up barricades in an attempt to stop preacher Ibrahim Mahmud, also known as Ibrahim Libya, from being arrested under the now repealed Internal Security Act (ISA) for alleged deviant teachings, an allegation rejected by PAS.
The tragedy resurfaced recently after a question on it was posed to PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad during the “Nothing to Hide 2” forum on August 13.
Dr Mahathir was prime minister when the incident took place.
On Aug 20, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government was willing to consider an RCI into the tragedy, eliciting strong support from PAS leaders.
The idea was also welcomed by Pakatan Harapan leaders including Mahathir, as well as Musa Hitam, Mahathir’s then deputy who was tasked with arresting Ibrahim.
Former PAS senator named
Zainon said the individual named in his police report was former PAS senator Muhamad Yusof Husin, who was in the management board of the Madrasah Islahiah Diniah, the religious school in Memali founded by Ibrahim.
“I stated in the police report that more than RM1 million was misappropriated between 1986 and early 2000,” he added.
When contacted, Yusof denied the allegation, and instead said a police investigation had found no wrongdoing.
“The party had investigated. The police too had investigated. There was certainly no misappropriation. In fact the police laughed it off,” he told FMT, adding that he had not publicised the matter because he “did not want to embarrass anyone”.
But Zainon questioned the involvement of Bukit Aman police in the investigation, saying the report was lodged with the Baling police.
“Bukit Aman did not conduct the investigation transparently,” he said. “I was the one who made the report, but I was not called to have my statement taken.”
He also questioned why the outcome of the police investigation was not revealed 17 years after his complaint. -FMT
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