KOTA BARU: Pas today urged Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to stop pinning the blame on the muftis for the 1985 Memali tragedy, saying the former premier is unqualified to talk about religion.
Pas vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said Dr Mahathir, who is now Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman, should desist from commenting on the matter.
“In my personal view, he (Dr Mahathir) should keep quiet and stop making statements on religious issues, including the Memali incident.
“The more he talks, the more he shows his ignorance,” he told reporters when met during an event at Kompleks Kota Darulnaim here, today.
On Saturday, Dr Mahathir blamed the country’s muftis for not countering Pas’ decree, the so-called “Amanat Hadi”, when it became public in 1980s.
The Pakatan Harapan chairman had claimed that the bloody Memali tragedy would not have occurred if the muftis objected to the decree.
“It looks as if he (Dr Mahathir) is unable to accept (explanations) whenever any religious issues are debated.
“I’m not sure how he really feels about religious issues but I am sure that he has not liked Pas since a long time ago,” said Amar, who is also Kelantan deputy menteri besar.
In the Memali incident on Nov 19, 1985, violence erupted when villagers resisted the police’s attempt to arrest religious teacher and local Pas leader Ibrahim Mahmud, popularly known as Ibrahim Libya, under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for deviant teachings, an allegation rejected by Pas.
Dr Mahathir was prime minister at the time of the incident in Kampung Memali, Baling in Kedah that saw a confrontation between police and supporters of Ibrahim, who resisted attempts to arrest him under the now abolished ISA.
In August last year, Dr Mahathir defended the security force’s action during the Memali incident, saying that Ibrahim and Pas followers were influenced by a speech by Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang at the time.
Dr Mahathir had said the victims became too obsessed with "Amanat Hadi", referring to an extract of a controversial speech by Hadi which among others questioned Muslims who joined Umno and labelled them as infidels.
The incident saw a massive police siege on the village which ended with 14 residents and four police officers killed.