Kua Kia Soong: Karpal would have held Dr Mahathir responsible for Ops Lalang
(The Star) – Karpal Singh would hold Dr Mahathir responsible for Operasi Lalang if he were still alive, said his Kamunting cellmate.
Dr Kua Kia Soong, 67, who was detained for 445 days under the operation said that the former DAP leader was someone who had strong principles.
Kua said that these principles were demonstrated in 2008 when he protested the speculated hopping of Barisan National candidates to Pakatan Rakyat then.
“Having known Karpal Singh today he would still want to hold Mahathir responsible. And he will probably want Mahathir to apologise as well,” he said during an event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Operasi Lalang at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Saturday.
“This is a declaration by people who are the leaders of Pakatan Harapan now. It’s very clear who they held responsible,” said Kua.
He reiterated that all he was asking from Dr Mahathir was an apology.
“We are not interested in money, just a simple apology. Just for destroying the lives of the detainees and their families,” he said.
He said they were asking for an apology from Dr Mahathir as he is now with the Opposition.
“If Mahathir is going to lead Pakatan Harapan, show us that you are a born-again democrat. Otherwise why would I vote for Pakatan Harapan,” he said.
Kua’s wife, Anne-Munro Kua recalled how the traumatic and tremendous the experience was, starting from witnessing how her husband was snatched in the middle of the night.
“It may be 30 years ago…and I think I might have been fortunate to stay a little bit sane but the memory of that traumatic time is as fresh as ever,” she said in a speech prior to relaunching a book she had written in 1993 titled ‘Autocrats vs The People’.
Dr Mahathir has always maintained his innocence over Ops Lalang, saying that it was purely a police decision and that he had little choice but to go along with it.
Under Ops Lalang that began in Oct 1987, a total of 106 people were detained without trial.
They included politicians, NGO members, activists, intellectuals, priests and student leaders. Some of them would end up being detained for two years without trial.
The licences of three national newspapers – The Star, Sin Chew Jit Poh and the now defunct Watan – were also withdrawn.
