Hanif panel 'to find the truth' before gov't acts

The government will depend on the "independent panel headed by Hanif Omar" to get to the bottom of what really happened during the Bersih 3.0 electoral reform rally before taking further action against errant parties.

"The independent panel shall find the truth," Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat this morning.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Lilah Yassin (BN-Jempol) on whether the government means to act against opposition parties under the Sedition Act for allegedly instigating the violence.

Abu Seman said the "search for truth is the important thing" and this is why the government did not ask the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) or set up a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the matter.

He said Suhakam could form its own panel to investigate what happened if it feels this is necessary.

In his reply, the deputy minister also referred to Bersih as "dirty" and "violent" and said that the violence was instigated by opposition parties.

Met at the Parliament lobby later, he was asked if his vilification of Bersih - now on record in the Hansard - has pre-empted the Hanif panel’s findings.

"No, I am not pre-empting the panel. That is what actually happened, transpired, everybody has seen the pictures in the media,” he said.

Pressed if he could have been impartial as a government official, he claimed that he was not targeting any individual or body.

"Yes, we are supposed to be impartial. What I am mentioning here is what transpired, what (was) done, the whole incident (on April 28). I am talking about the perhimpunan (gathering) the perhimpunanwas kotor."

‘Directive received’

Asked why two police officers accused of beating up a reporter had been charged in court prior to the outcome of the Hanif panel, he said this was a decision of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

"Not only the police case, lots of other cases, the AGC is looking into the matter, whatever happened. We received a directive from (the) AGC (to prosecute)."

The rally for clean and fair elections made its mark as one of the largest in recent history and which attracted the most stringent police response, leading to alleged incidents of violence on both sides.

All told, the police spent RM1.8 million to  mobilise over 9,000 law enforcecement officers and to use close to 1,000 tear-gas munitions.