Responding to criticism of a speech he made at an event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Ops Lalang, he said he was merely making an analogy to show that some Pakatan Harapan politicians had chosen to ignore Mahathir’s mastermind role in the dragnet that resulted in the incarceration without trial of scores of politicians, NGO activists and intellectuals.
“My point was that you cannot look at a historical event and leave out the person responsible for the catastrophe,” Kua told FMT.
“I didn’t compare Mahathir with Hitler.
“I said it was like absolving Hitler for being the one responsible for World War 2. I compared that to the way Pakatan leaders seem to be absolving Mahathir for Ops Lalang by not mentioning him at all.
“If they sat for a history exam, they would all fail because they have missed the point.”
Responding to Kua’s speech, which was delivered on Saturday, prominent DAP member Zaid Ibrahim sent a text message to FMT in which he asked whether civic groups in Malaysia agreed with the Suaram founder.
“I want to know if they share that obnoxious view,” Zaid said.
Kua, who was detained for 445 days in Ops Lalang, has repeatedly asked Mahathir, now chairman of Pakatan Harapan, to apologise for his role in the October 1987 crackdown.
The Mahathir government’s explanation for the operation was that it was meant to prevent racial riots.
Ops Lalang was carried out under the now defunct Internal Security Act (ISA). It was the largest ISA swoop since the May 1969 riots.
The crackdown took place at a time when Umno was split into two opposing groups, one led by Mahathir and the other by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Musa Hitam.
Among the the prominent detainees were then DAP secretary-general Lim Kit Siang, DAP deputy chairman Karpal Singh, MCA vice-president Chan Kit Chee, PAS Youth chief Halim Arshat, Pasir Mas MP Ibrahim Ali and Umno Youth Education chairman Mohamed Fahmi Ibrahim.
Aside from Kua, who was at the time the publicity chief for the Civil Rights Committee, other prominent non-politicians detained included Dong Jiao Zong chairman Lim Fong Seng and Women’s Aid Organisation member Irene Xavier.
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