Memali Incident

The Memali Incident (Malay: Peristiwa Memali) or code-named as Operasi Angkara ("Operation Cause") and Operasi Hapus ("Operation Destroy") was a major incident that occurred in the remote village of Kampung Memali, Baling in the Malaysian state of Kedah on 19 November 1985.

A team of 200 policemen, under orders from the Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam, laid siege to kampung (village) houses in Memali, near Baling in Kedah. The houses were occupied by a group of about 400 people led by Ibrahim Mahmud a.k.a. Ibrahim Libya. The siege resulted in the deaths of 14 villagers and 4 policemen.

The Memali Incident followed severely strained relationships between UMNO and PAS, two major political parties in Malaysia. Some PAS leaders had concluded that UMNO members were apostate. In 1981, Hadi Awang, (who was then PAS state commissioner for Terengganu, and has been PAS President since 2002) claimed that UMNO perpetuated the unIslamic rule of colonialism, and therefore the struggle of PAS and its supporters against UMNO is jihad, and that those who died in the struggle are al-shahid (martyrs). In the wake of Hadi's claims, there was a serious rift in the Malay Muslim community. In Besut, Terengganu for example, communities were split to the extent that communal prayers were done separately for UMNO and for PAS congregations.

Ibrahim was a local religious teacher who had received part of his education at the University of Tripoli in Libya, hence his nickname Ibrahim Libya. The police wanted to arrest Ibrahim Mahmud under the Internal Security Act, for creating discord and disharmony, but he refused to give himself up. Ibrahim was also accused of harbouring two brothers, Yusof Che Mit and Ramli Che Mit, who were fugitives. Revered by the village folks, who called him Ustaz Ibrahim, they vowed to defend him to the death.

Ibrahim attended Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Weng in Baling before furthering his studies in Islamic studies at Sekolah Agama Ittifaqiah, Kg Carok Putih, Weng and later Pondok Al-Khariah, Pokok Sena, Seberang Perai. Ibrahim Mahmud attended the University of Tripoli in Libya. He had also studied in India and at Al-Azhar University in Cairo.

Upon his return, he worked as a preacher with Pusat Islam. He appeared on television to lecture on topics of Islam. Allegedly, Ibrahim was involved in the 1974 Baling Demonstrations along with Anwar Ibrahim. Ibrahim Mahmud's politics drifted towards those of PAS. His close association with PAS worried the government of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. In 1978, Ibrahim contested the elections for the seat of Bayu-Baling as a PAS candidate. Ibrahim polled 5,081 votes as opposed to the Barisan Nasional candidate who polled 6,169 votes. In 1982, Ibrahim again contested for the same seat but lost by 100 votes.

Pusat Islam looked into his teachings and thereafter banned him from lecturing in the media or to give lectures in mosques and suraus throughout the nation. Pusat Islam also started making allegations of 'deviationist acts' against him. Ibrahim was called a fanatic who challenged the integrity of the Government.

The police action left 14 civilians and 4 policemen dead. The villagers were armed with a few guns, machetes, sharpened bamboo rods, and other rudimentary weapons. The police used heavy vehicles. At the height of the assault, some villagers, men and women, came out in the open in a state of frenzy and hysteria.^{[citation needed]} Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam, who was also Home Affairs Minister, announced to the media that 14 'criminals' had been killed in Kampung Memali in clashes with security forces.