The Malaysian Bar - Panel on Bersih rally begins inquiry

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Panel on Bersih rally begins inquiry

Monday, 18 June 2012 02:05pm

©The Sun (Used by permission)
by Hemananthani Sivanandam

PETALING JAYA (June 17, 2012): The independent advisory panel set up to investigate the Bersih 3.0 rally will begin its inquiry tomorrow.

theSun’s special and investigative reporting editor R. Nadeswaran has been invited as the first witness to testify before the four-member panel headed by former inspector-general of police Tun Hanif Omar.

The panel is expected to meet on a weekly basis. However, the number of witnesses who will be called to testify is not known.

“It depends on the panel but anyone who wants to come forward with the relevant information is welcome to do so,” said a source familiar with the panel.

Home Ministry set up the panel on May 2 following public outcry over allegations of police brutality during the April 28 rally.

The rally, which was planned as a peaceful sit-down at Dataran Merdeka, turned chaotic when a small group of protesters broke through police barricades and into the iconic square.

Eight media personnel, including theSun journalist Radzi Razam, and 13 police officers were hurt in the ensuing fracas.

The panel had received lukewarm responses from various quarters which alleged Hanif would be biased as panel chairman as he had earlier openly criticised the rally.

The Bersih 2.0 steering committee has said it will not engage with the panel while the Bar Council said it was prepared to meet with Hanif out of its policy of engagement.

“The Bar maintains its view that the panel is flawed with the membership of Hanif whose two statements disqualify him from sitting, and the lack of legal framework represents a great handicap to the panel, in comparison with Suhakam Inquiries,” council president Lim Chee Wee reportedly said.

Initially, the panel had six members including Hanif; however, former Borneo chief judge Tan Sri Steve Shim and Petronas corporate affairs senior general manager Datuk Medan Abdullah turned down the appointments, citing health reasons and work commitments, respectively.

Hanif said the government would appoint their replacements as soon as possible.

The other members include Sinar Harian Press Group managing director Datuk Husammuddin Yaacub, Sin Chew Press Group legal adviser Liew Peng Chuan and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia psychology expert Prof Dr Ruszmi Ismail.

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