Zaid: Nazri’s Memali remarks a cheap shot at Mahathir

Former minister says Nazri Aziz's comments also show Umno is clueless on how to handle Mahathir Mohamad in the coming general election.

PETALING JAYA: A former federal minister today dismissed the Memali comments made by Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz as a cheap shot at discrediting former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Zaid Ibrahim was commenting on Nazri’s remark that the government’s response to the Memali incident in 1985 was disproportionate and that Mahathir had to answer for it now.

“This is another cheap and desperate work of Umno to discredit Tun (Mahathir),” he said.

“Umno voters have accepted the government’s explanation about Memali, which is why they voted in Tun and Barisan Nasional (BN) 15 years after the incident.

“If Nazri hopes that Malay voters are still angry with Tun, they are in all probability PAS members. How does that benefit Umno?”

Zaid added that such a statement was a reflection of how clueless Umno was on how to handle Mahathir in the coming general election.

“In any case, this royal commission of inquiry (RCI) will be just another circus. It will have no effect at all on right thinking Malaysians,” he said.

The Memali incident on Nov 19, 1985, saw a massive police siege on a village in Baling, Kedah, which ended with 14 residents and four 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in an attempt to stop preacher Ibrahim Mahmud, also known as Ibrahim Libya, from being arrested under the now-repealed Internal Security Act (ISA) for alleged deviant teachings, an allegation rejected by PAS.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 recently resurfaced in Mahathir’s Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum on Aug 13.

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. -FMT