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The village was the scene of a bloody tragedy in 1985 when a massive police siege ended with 14 residents and four police officers killed, after villagers resisted the police’s attempt to arrest religious teacher and local PAS leader Ibrahim Mahmud under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for deviant teachings, an allegation that had been rejected by PAS.
While PAS blamed Mahathir for the incident, the former Umno president has repeatedly defended the security force’s actions, blaming PAS followers influenced by current PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s “Amanat Hadi” speech in 1981.
“I would say 99.9% of the residents here still stand firm with PAS,” said village spokesman Ahmad, whose father was one of the victims of the fateful incident, adding that residents still support PAS and will continue to do so as long as the Islamic party does not change its policies or views.
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