PAS Denies Using Memali Tragedy As Bait To Fish Malay Votes
KOTA BHARU, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- PAS has refuted the allegation made by Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) that it has used the Memali tragedy as a bait to fish Malay votes in the upcoming 14th general election (GE14).
PAS deputy spiritual leader, Datuk Ahmad Yakob, said the Memali tragedy was an issue that should be discussed by all quarters, and that PAS had no political interest whatsoever in the issue.
"This is not about fishing votes because PAS has been championing the issue all this while," he told reporters after opening the 19th convocation of Kolej Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Ismail Petra (KIAS) here today.
Yesterday, Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub claimed that PAS had purposely replayed the Memali incident as a bait to fish Malay votes in view of the GE14.
On Aug 16, PAS vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah called on the federal government to set up a royal commission of inquiry into the Memali tragedy to explain what actually happened in the 1985 incident.
A police operation on Nov 19, 1985, in Kedah to arrest religious teacher Ibrahim Mahmud, better known as Ibrahim Libya, resulted in the killing of 18 people, four of them policemen, in what has come to be known as the Memali tragedy.
The issue was raised by several individuals at the Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum organised by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia that erupted into a fracas last Sunday in Shah Alam.
-- BERNAMA
