PUTRAJAYA, July 11- The report of the organising of the Bersih 3.0 demonstration on April 28, last year was today handed over to Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for further action.
The report was prepared by the Independent Advisory Panel chaired by former inspector-general of police Tun Hanif Omar (photo), with the other members comprising former chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, Sinar Harian group managing director Datuk Husammuddin Yaacub, Sin Chiew Daily legal adviser Liew Peng Chuan, Petronas corporate affairs senior general manager Datuk Medan Abdullah, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia psychology expert Prof Dr Ruszmi Ismail.
The 500-page report was handed over by Hanif, who said the report was ready in April this year but was not released immediately in view of the approaching 13th general election then.
“The report was completed after we convened 50 meetings and there were 10 terms of reference,” he told a press conference, here.
He said for the panel to come up with the report, 45 witnesses comprising 22 police officers and members, eight media practitioners, four officials from the Election Commission including its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, four Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) enforcement officers, two Prasarana staff, a PAS member from its Amal Unit, and five members of the public testified at the inquiry.
“We also used 73 minutes of video recording and related photographs from the Royal Malaysian Police and those uploaded to the Internet by members of the public,” he added.
On the police making up the biggest number of witnesses in the independent panel’s investigation, Hanif said this was because they came forward to testify.
“Although we provided the public the space to become witnesses, the main characters in the rally declined to cooperate.
“We (panel) didn’t have the power to force people to give their statements, (but) there were those who told they cooperated with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) on the matter.”
He said the panel believed that certain quarters had tried to prevent individuals from testifying at the inquiry.
Hanif said the Suhakam report leaned towards the issue of human rights, while the independent panel was set up to obtain a real picture of what happened before, during and after the 3.0 demonstration, but the panel also used the Suhakam report to complete its investigation.
He said the report also contained several advice and suggestions for the government to take up in the interest of the nation and people, but it was up to the home minister to reveal the contents of the report to the public or not.
Tun Hanif said although his credibility to chair the panel was questioned and doubted earlier, thanks to the trust of the panel members and their experience, the report was done in a transparent and fair manner.
“The panel members came from various backgrounds. Husammuddin, for example, was a student protest demonstrator in 1974 and was once arrested and taken to Pulapol (Police Training Centre),” he said.
– BERNAMA
