Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s allegation linking the role played by a certain PAS leader in issuing his ‘amanat’ (message) in the early 1980s as the reason that sparked the Memali incident, is premature, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said.

He said the government had yet to set up the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to reinvestigate the Memali incident, but various quarters had already ‘made their decision and judgement’ without giving those who were allegedly involved the chance to explain.

“Let’s not do that. Let the RCI call (and listen to the explanation of) Hadi (PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang), Dr Mahathir, Musa Hitam first.

“Then only we can make a decision. We cannot prejudge anything,” he told reporters after attending the state-level Cooperative Day 2017 celebration at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium in Kota Bharu today.

The celebration launched by Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob was also attended by Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Hamzah Zainudin, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed and Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir was reported as saying that Abdul Hadi’s controversial speech, dubbed ‘amanat Hadi’, made in the early 1980s was the reason that sparked the Memali tragedy in which 14 villagers and four police officers killed after the police launched an operation in the face of resistance to arrest a religious teacher, Ibrahim Mahmud, better known as Ibrahim Libya, on Nov 19, 1985.

Dr Mahathir was the then prime minister.

- Bernama