The government is willing to consider a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the Memali tragedy, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

"The government is ready to consider the setting up of a Memali RCI if there are any quarters who request or propose for it, in the interest of the victims of the incident," Zahid said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.

The Memali tragedy was a clash between the police force and an Islamic sect in 1985 which resulted in 18 deaths including four police officers.

The villagers, who had stockpiled weapons, barricaded themselves in when police attempted to arrest their leader Ibrahim Mahmood.

If the government decides to go ahead with the RCI, it will be the second commission set up this year to probe scandals or controversies which happened during former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's era...