‘Victims, next of kin deserve to know the truth’
ALOR STAR: A Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Memali incident can help victims and their families find closure to the tragedy.
The inquiry could help provide a better understanding of why Ibrahim Mahmud, better known as Ibrahim Libya, became radicalised and why such action was taken to apprehend the civilians.
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) International Studies senior lecturer Dr Ummu Atiyah Ahmad Zakuan said the victims and their next-of-kin had the right to know the truth behind the tragedy since they had been waiting for more than three decades to hear it.
“Anyone who is accused of a crime deserves a fair hearing. In this case, the victims and their families have the right to hear the reason behind the action taken by the authorities in apprehending Ibrahim and the villagers,” she said.
Ummu Atiyah said the call for the RCI to be expedited was wise as the witnesses were still alive to tell their sides of the story.
Furthermore, the survivors dispute the findings in the White Paper on the tragedy that was published in 1986.
She said the focus now was to make sure that the panel appointed to sit in the RCI would reflect the integrity of the body.
“There is substantial grounds for the victims and their families to request for an inquiry because they are disputing the White Paper.
“The inquiry must be held in good faith, to find the truth about the incident.
“The panellists need to be nonpartisan so that the public, especially the families, are confident that the body is neutral and that it is set up with the intention of finding out the truth.”
She added that the RCI, when in session, must specify the procedure and remedies that needed to be carried out.
Ummu Atiyah said the practice of setting up a public inquiry on issues of public interest was common in other countries.
The Kedah Pas deputy commissioner, Muhamad Sanusi Md Nor, had urged the government to expedite the setting up of an RCI on the Memali incident while the witnesses and the next-of-kin of the 14 civilians were still alive.
The chairman of a special committee for Memali victims said the truth could only be obtained through an RCI.