BALING: ‘‘We are sad... why bring up an old wound and what is the need to use Memali for this General Election.’’
That is the sentiment of those involved in the Memali incident 33 years ago.
Their reaction came about after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that the 14 people who were killed in the Memali tragedy in 1985, did not die as martyrs but rather died in vain (mati katak).
Clearly, they are upset and uncomfortable that the Memali tragedy is being used as part of the Opposition's political campaign, in fact their anger has doubled as the remark was insensitive.
A former student of the late Ibrahim Mahmud or Ibrahim Libya, Zaman Mahmud said after they heard what Mahathir said, an air of sadness descended upon the village.
"Why must Tun Mahathir bring up the Memali tragedy and why use such harsh words? 'Mati katak' is too harsh.
"Life in Memali is calm now. Even those of us in PAS do not wish to dig up old wounds, why is Tun Mahathir doing it?" the 65-year-old said.
"To be honest, most of us are not angry with the government because for us, when it comes to the Memali tragedy, it wasn't the government's fault but it was the fault of one man named Mahathir," he said.
Zaman who was also in the house when Ibrahim Libya was killed, said the remark made by Dr Mahathir could lead to tension in the village.
Another former student of Ibrahim Libya, Zakaria Abdul Rahman said those in Parti Amanah Negara (PAN) should remain with their stand which was to fight for the Memali victims to be recognised as martyrs, but right now, it appears they have no stand.
"We are very angry when people like Mat Sabu (PAN president Mohamad Sabu) took to apologising to Tun Mahathir on behalf of former PAS leaders on the Memali issue.
"Who are they to apologise when people in Memali have still not been given the right to prove who is at fault and to uncover the actual cause behind what happened. We want to respond to Tun Mahathir's allegations.
"Alleging that our teachers and fathers died in vain is rude and cannot be forgiven. Don't bring this up again because we want to live in peace," he said.
Observation by NSTP reporters in Memali found that things are infact calm but tension is apparent on the faces of a small group of people near Ibrahim Libya's house.
We are also reminded not to raise the Memali issue again because it is a sensitive matter, not just to the older generation but also to their children and grandchildren.
After much backlash, Dr Mahathir in a video posting yesterday apologised for saying that the 14 in Memali had died in vain.
He claimed it was a slip of the tongue when, during a ceramah in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur he had used the term 'mati katak' and not 'mati syahid' (died as martyrs).