“It happened over 20 years ago. I met them but I cannot remember the faces of those people.
“I certainly remember that Karpal (Singh) was not one of them and I think (Lim) Kit Siang is one of them,” he told reporters after launching the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia here yesterday.
On Sunday, DAP chairman Karpal Singh dared Dr Mahathir to name the leaders that he had met prior to the crackdown, the venue of the meeting and when the meeting happened.
Karpal also said that if Dr Mahathir failed to respond to his challenge within seven days, it would be presumed that the latter was not telling the truth.
It was reported as well that Lim had also challenged Dr Mahathir to list the names of opposition leaders he allegedly met before Ops Lalang, and accused him of rewriting history by putting the blame on police for the arrest of 106 people under the Internal Security Act in 1987.
Lim had commented on the book Doctor M: Operation Malaysia – Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad, which revealed that Dr Mahathir had said the 1987 crackdown was a police decision.
Dr Mahathir said if the opposition leaders were not prone to telling lies, they should admit to meeting him prior to Ops Lalang.