The former prime minister who was in power during the incident said if the muftis had stood up and intervened, the deadly tragedy could have been prevented.
“I want to ask the muftis who are advisors to our sultans: When PAS claimed that those who did not join PAS are kafir (infidels), why didn’t the muftis correct their (PAS’) remarks?” he said.
“Their silence made it seem as though they agreed with PAS’ view,” he said in his winding-up speech at the PPBM annual general meeting here on Saturday.
“So if they agree with PAS’ opinion and they did not join PAS, then the muftis are also kafir, and those they advise are also kafir,” he added.
In October, Mahathir, 92, had claimed that the “Amanat Hadi”, a speech delivered by current PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in Kampung Banggol, Kuala Terengganu, on April 7, 1981, had contributed to the Memali incident, leading to 14 villagers and four police officers losing their lives.
Violence had erupted when the villagers tried to protect religious preacher and local PAS leader Ibrahim Mahmud, also known as Ibrahim Libya, from arrest under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for alleged deviant teachings.
PAS had then rejected the allegation made against Ibrahim, who was among those killed.
Mahathir had asked what right Hadi and PAS had to denounce (‘mengkafirkan’) those who did not join their party as infidels.
Hadi’s speech had among other things questioned Muslims who joined Umno. He had said that anyone who died opposing the Umno government would be considered a martyr.
In his speech on Saturday, Mahathir said it was because the muftis did not speak out against Hadi that the followers of Ibrahim had taken the lives of the police officers.
“Ibrahim’s followers killed four police officers. Because to them the police were kafir, working for a kafir government,” he said.
“This is the result of a fatwa issued by a politician that was not rebutted by muftis,” he added.
On a separate matter, Mahathir also said bribery was a disease.
“It is also like drugs and many who are addicted to it can no longer function,” he said.
Repent and rescind your ‘Amanat Hadi’, Mahathir tells PAS supremo