Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government should look into and study various aspects before deciding to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the Memali incident.

He said the government would look at every angle including three important elements before bringing the issue to the cabinet meeting to decide on the appropriate period for the establishment of the commission.

Zahid (photo), who is also home minister, said the establishment of the RCI would not only be due to the insistence of NGOs or certain leaders who merely wanted the setting up of the RCI to be accelerated.

"The first element of the RCI that should be investigated is whether there was a directive made by the PDRM to shoot, in the incident that killed Ustaz Ibrahim Mahmud or Ibrahim Libya and his followers.

"We know that action which is the second element of the police was based on instruction and this order we hope was for the purpose of safeguarding security, not a political order.

"... and the third element was if whether there was any element of persecution or tyranny committed by anyone who issued such a directive, then the task of the RCI is to investigate who is the key person to direct the operation in Kampung Memali," he said.

Zahid said this to reporters after the TPM Casual Programme with RMP and the Home Ministry for Bagan Datuk and Hilir Perak at the Hutan Melintang police station today.

About 1,500 officers and members including several government agencies were present for the program.

On Feb 16, a group of Gagasan Sejahtera supporters and representatives from several NGOs demanded that the government hastened the establishment of the RCI over the Memali issue, which took place during the premiership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Memali incident on Nov 19, 1985, saw 18 people including four policemen, killed and more injured when police launched an operation to nab Ibrahim Libya.

- Bernama