A PAS leader has denied claims the party is pursuing the Memali incident as a means of attacking former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is now at the forefront of the opposition.

Deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man last night defended his party's call for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the three-decade-old incident saying it was a quest for justice.

"For PAS, it isn't a question of wanting to 'attack' Mahathir or any individual.

"We want to uphold the principle of justice, not to make allegations on any party.

"That is the meaning of mature politics and peace that we are bringing," Harakahdaily reported Tuan Ibrahim saying after a ceramah on the 1MDB issue in conjunction with the Kuala Terengganu constituency session at Flat Hiliran in Terengganu last night.

While he did not elaborate, former PAS vice president and now Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub yesterday claimed the Islamist party was harping on the issue first raised by Umno's de facto deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, for political gain.

Salahuddin claimed PAS leaders had already made peace with the authorities over the tragedy of 1985, and that the present party leaders were likely playing it up now to attack Mahathir and to gain Malay support.

Tuan Ibrahim said he supports party president Abdul Hadi Awang's call for a RCI and hopes it can be done quickly, as it has been 32 years since the bloody clash between PAS leader Ibrahim “Libya” Mahmood's group and the police.

He added those responsible must apologise and admit their mistakes, adding Mahathir should go to Memali and apologise as suggested by party secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan.

Meanwhile, PAS Youth information chief Hishamuddin Abdul Karim slammed Salahuddin’s statement as “arrogant” and “outrageous”, as the matter concerns a criminal act that has yet to be brought to justice.

“It is a matter of the lives sacrificed; the dignity and all it entails that had been denied by the unjustifiable actions of those in power.

“PAS had never stopped calling for justice on the incident. PAS still stands by its position that all of them (the Memali villagers involved) were deliberately killed and oppressed, and their deaths are martyrdom.

“Salahuddin’s arguments is also incoherent and wrong, which goes to show that his party’s true colours whereby he considers the incident has long past and not a major issue.

“While Amanah had been talking about maqasid syariah (objectives of Syariah law), it turns out that they would belittle the lives that were instrumental in upholding it,” he said in a separate statement today.

The incident on Nov 19, 1985, took place when police attempted to arrest the religious scholar and PAS leader Ibrahim at his camp. He was suspected of heading a "deviant" sect.

When the 400-strong police force rolled into the camp with armoured vehicles, they met with resistance, and 14 villagers including Ibrahim and four police personnel perished in the conflict.