Ex-ISA detainee says will not accept even if Dr M apologised
PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's blogpost accepting the blame for the Ops Lalang crackdown in 1987 was a “political decision” and not a sincere apology, said former detainee Dr Nasir Hashim.
“Basically, he is saying his underlings did it, and since he is the boss, he has to apologise on their behalf,” the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) president said yesterday.
“He is not apologising for what he did, he is apologising that it happened and that his people did it. He is saying that he has nothing to do with it at all,” he added.
On Wednesday (Nov 1), Dr Mahathir said he accepted the blame for the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) to detain 106 people during Ops Lalang in 1987.
He however stopped short of apologising for the incident.
Dr Nasir, who was detained for 15 months without trial during Ops Lalang, said he would not be able to accept Dr Mahathir's apology even if one had been proffered.
He said he doubts Dr Mahathir's sincerity because he had also witnessed his 22-year premiership.
He also questioned why the former prime minister “accepted” the blame for Ops Lalang but continues to deny his involvement in other scandals that occurred while he was in office.
“Historically, Dr Mahathir has maintained his innocence in the Salleh Abbas crisis, the ISA, the Memali tragedy and other scandals,” Dr Nasir said.
“He is reluctant to apologise because of arrogance, and even if he does apologise, it is not coming from the heart and is only for political expediency,” he added.
Tun Salleh Abas was dismissed from his post as Lord President of the then Federal Court, now the Supreme Court, in 1988, which critics have said led to the Malaysian judiciary becoming less independent.
The ISA or Internal Security Act allowed for detention without trial, and was repealed in 2011 by current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Finally, the Memali incident in 1985 saw 18 deaths, four of them policemen, and many others injured after police launched an operation to arrest religious teacher Ibrahim Mahmud, better known as Ibrahim Libya.
Dr Nasir said that while he has his own issues with Dr Mahathir, who is also Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president, he would not protest the latter's apology if it brings peace to other Ops Lalang detainees.
However, he lamented the fact that Pakatan Harapan was now defending Dr Mahathir's past wrongdoings because of the collaboration between opposition parties.