He said blaming others, specifically Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN), was irresponsible of them.
The commotion occurred soon after Mahathir was asked a question on the Memali incident that took place in 1985 that resulted in the deaths of 18 people, four of them policemen.
Mahdzir said that although the Memali incident happened a long time ago, it had left a deep impact on the family members and villagers in the area.
”We do not know, maybe the person who asked the question was personally affected or his family was involved in the incident.”
He said this at a press conference after presenting prizes to winners of the Inter-Division Choir Competition held in conjunction with Independence Month 2017 organised by the Ministry of Education Sports and Culture Association (Mesca) here today.
Mahdzir was commenting on allegations that BN and Umno had orchestrated the incident during the programme organised by the youth wing of PPBM in Shah Alam, Selangor, which had to be stopped abruptly after shoes, chairs, flares, slippers and water bottles were thrown while Mahathir was answering a question on the Memali tragedy.
He said there should be no wild allegations that the ruling party had orchestrated the incident.
He said doing so was only to cover the organiser’s weaknesses because the programme should not have been held in the first place as it was merely to give Mahathir a chance to speak for the sake of gaining political mileage.
Mahdzir condemned the fracas and violence at the programme and said he hoped the police would investigate the case thoroughly to find out why it happened, and to identify those responsible.
In KUALA LUMPUR, Umno Youth vice-chief Khairul Azwan Harun said PPBM Youth head Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman should be held responsible for the incident for failing to ensure the safety of the audience at the programme.
“The youth head (Syed Saddiq) should have foreseen such incidences and provided the highest security during the forum,” he told reporters at the lobby of Parliament.
Shah Alam police chief ACP Shafien Mamat said three youths, aged 17, 18 and 19, had been detained to assist in the investigation into the incident.
Azwan condemned the incident and said it was a wake-up call to PPBM, that not all party members liked their leaders.
He said there was even the possibility that the fracas was planned by PPBM members themselves so they could blame Umno for it.
Immediately after the media reported the incident, Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali claimed that Umno had masterminded it.
In response, Azwan denied that Umno Youth was involved in the incident and urged the authorities to conduct a full investigation and arrest those responsible.
Umno supreme council member Irmohizam Ibrahim said the accusation by the Pakatan Harapan leadership that Prime Minister Najib Razak was the mastermind behind the incident was a serious matter as it was aimed at tarnishing the good name of the country’s leader.
“It is common practice for the opposition to cover up their own weaknesses. They should look at security control from all aspects,” he said.