KEDAH PAS has reiterated calls for the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the 1985 Memali tragedy, in which 14 villagers and four policemen were killed.

The call by state PAS deputy commissioner Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor came after former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad apologised for past misdeeds, reported the New Straits Times yesterday.

Sanusi said the Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu chairman’s apology would not weaken calls for the RCI into the tragedy, which took place when Dr Mahathir was prime minister, to be set up.

Sanusi, who heads a committee that seeks justice for the families of those killed in the clash between villagers and police, said it strongly believed that the incident was a result of a “grave mistake” by Dr Mahathir’s administration.

“We totally agree with the call by former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam to set up an RCI to investigate the Memali incident, even if it can only be formed after the 14th general election.

“We are still hoping it will be expedited, without further delay, while those involved are still alive.”

Apart from the 92-year-old Dr Mahathir, the other figures involved in the tragedy who are still alive are the then deputy home minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Baling district police chief Tunku Muszaffar Shah, as well as some family members of the victims, whom Sanusi said could be called up as witnesses.

He said the RCI must investigate transparently, without political interference, and that it should recommend that those found responsible be charged in court.

He said the committee wanted the government to admit to its mistake in handling the Memali tragedy and apologise to the victims’ families.

“We demand that the Memali White Paper be corrected to reflect the truth, and not the ‘Dr Mahathir version’, where all mistakes were covered up by false reports.

“The victims’ families should be compensated for their losses, while the property and cash belonging to the madrasah should be returned and the victims’ names cleared of wrongdoing.”

Sanusi slammed Dr Mahathir for trying to blame others, referring to the latter’s remarks on the Amanat Hadi.

Dr Mahathir has blamed the Memali tragedy on the Amanat Hadi, a speech by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in 1981, in which he said those who supported Barisan Nasional were infidels.

In his winding-up his speech at the Bersatu general assembly in Shah Alam on Saturday, Dr Mahathir said muftis who did not oppose Hadi’s speech could also be taken to be infidels.

It has been argued that the Amanat Hadi had influenced militant group head and local PAS leader Ibrahim Libya and his followers, who believed they were fighting a righteous cause, when they clashed with security forces in the Memali incident. – January 2, 2018.