Memali tragedy: All I want is for justice to prevail, says remaining survivor

By admin-s Last updated Jan 11, 2018

(NST) – For the past 33 years, not a single day goes by without him looking at the scars left by seven bullets when he was shot in the Memali incident.

At the age of 71, Abdullah Che Soh from Charok Puteh is the last surviving member after four other villagers, who were seriously wounded in the incident, died in recent years.

“I have never given up hope that the truth would be established, no matter how slim the chances are.

“All I want is for justice to prevail and the names of those who lost their lives and were injured in the incident cleared from all the malice and false allegations,” he said in an interview at his home.

Abdullah, who was hospitalised for a month due to the gunshot wounds to his arms, waist and chest, was subsequently detained for one month in police lock-up before being detained for another five months under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

At the age of 71, Abdullah Che Soh from Charok Puteh is the last surviving member after four other villagers, who were seriously wounded in the incident, died in recent years. Pix by Sharul Hafiz Zam

He said religious preacher Ibrahim Mahmud, or Ibrahim Libya, was never a terrorist and extremist as described by the authorities.

“He was objecting to the ISA, which he described as against justice principles in Islam, but the authorities made up all sorts of allegations to justify their violent act against him and the villagers.”

Abdullah said a book, Memali: A Policeman Remembers, penned by the then Baling police chief Tunku Muszaffar Shah Tunku Ibrahim, should serve as one of the reasons for the government to speed up the establishment of an RCI.

In 2011, Tunku Muszaffar published the book, which among others, revealed that his superiors from the federal police headquarters had made bad decisions due to political interferences, which led to the violent clash.

Abdullah said the revelation made by Tunku Muszaffar proved the victims’ claims that the situation could have been handled differently to avoid the tragedy.

“We were just civilians who were defending our religious teacher from oppression of ISA. It did not make sense for the police to use force and live bullets in the incident.

“I am more than willing to testify in the RCI so that the truth could be revealed, to dispute all the lies and misleading reports found in the Memali White Paper.”