THIRTY years after Operasi Lalang, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues to insist that the decision to arrest 106 people and shut down three newspapers was purely a police decision and that he had little choice but to go along.

However, his personal perspective on many of those arrested in the operation has changed with the passage of time and circumstance.

“When I was in the Government, I vilified them because I wanted to win the elections. But they’re not as bad as I made them out to be then.

“Now I am together with them. And I have become close to them,” Dr Mahathir, who is now chairman of Pakatan Harapan, was quoted saying in an interview with an online news portal recently.

It is as close to an apology as the former detainees are ever going to get from Dr Mahathir.

As the former prime minister and home minister, Dr Mahathir signed the ISA detention orders. Critics argue that the police would not have been able to carry out the arrests without his signature.

On this point, Dr Mahathir’s stand has remained firm. He has, and continues to argue, that it was an operation decided by the police and that he had no choice but to follow their advice.

In the 2011 book by Tom Plate, Conversations With Mahathir Mohamad: Doctor M: Operation Malaysia, Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying that he was not happy initially with the mass crackdown by the police.

“Well, I would have handled it differently, except that the police wanted to do these things because they said it was necessary.

“I actually met all of the Opposition members (beforehand) and assured them that they would not be arrested. And you know what the police did? They arrested them. My credibility was gone,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying in the book.

Dr Mahathir maintains this position in his recent interview with the news portal, saying that he did not agree with the police intention to conduct the arrests.

“I didn’t agree with it. I asked the police to accept that we must abolish the ISA (Internal Security Act).

“The police didn’t agree. I, bound by the security advice from the police, could not go against the police,” Dr Mahathir said.

The former prime minister added that the then Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar had told him that as prime minister he needed to listen to the IGP’s advice on issues of national security.

“He said that. And in truth, I did not fight against the police because I depend on them. Security is the work of the police.

“So if he says we need to catch this person, then go ahead. But as long as I can release them as soon as possible,” Dr Mahathir said.

Whatever his feelings now, throughout the period of detention, Dr Mahathir stood by the police action, saying that the arrests w ere done to stem rising tensions in the country.

He said then that the Government took decisive action to “forestall a trend that could turn Malaysia into another Ireland or Lebanon”.

Source:
courtesy of THE STAR

by Razak Ahmad

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