PAS is not worried about any revelation from a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to reinvestigate the Memali incident as the party has faced everything, said Nasrudin Hassan. 

The PAS information chief also chided former inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Noor who claimed that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang was the cause of the Memali incident, saying that he was trying to divert the issue to protect his “master”. 

“The RCI is not even set up and there’s now talk about exposes. An RCI is not a roadside investigation agency where can just make assumptions,” he told The Malaysian Insight via WhatsApp.

Even though there was no mention of who the “master” is, it was clear that Nasaruddin was referring to Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir was prime minister during the Memali incident, and is now leading the opposition as the Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu chairman. 

Rahim Noor said PAS had no reason to welcome an RCI, which would reveal the role that Hadi had played in the tragedy.

Four police officers and 14 civilians died in the stand-off between law enforcers and the militant Muslim group led by Ibrahim Libya. 

Rahim said Hadi’s speech in 1985 had influenced Ibrahim and his followers and caused them to think they were fighting a righteous cause.

A White Paper on the incident was released on February 26, 1986, signed off by then home minister Musa Hitam. 

Nasaruddin said PAS was ready to cooperate when the RCI is formed, but did not answer whether it meant Hadi will be willing to become a witness during the investigation.

“PAS stresses that the RCI must be transparent at the highest levels by providing independent and competent investigative teams,” he said.

DAP political veteran Lim Kit Siang said the RCI should question Hadi if the government decides to set up an RCI into the Memali incident.

Hadi recently blamed the violence that broke out at the Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum on Dr Mahathir’s failure to give a satisfactory answer to a question on the Memali incident.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government was ready to reopen investigations into the incident, a proposal that was welcomed by PAS. – August 22, 2017.