A Penang DAP leader has questioned the ability of the police to investigate allegations of their own misconduct during the recent Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur.

Police misconduct during the event, Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow said in a statement, extended beyond specific acts of brutality.

NONE Scores of video recordings and photographic documentation have shown incidents of high-handedness by police against peaceful protesters who gathered to demand for electoral reforms.

Chow  ( left ) said the misconduct must be understood in the wider context of police collusion with the Umno-BN government to deny ordinary citizens their constitutional right to free expression.

"It is strange, nay, illogical to expect a criminal to investigate and come clean on his or her own crimes," he said.

Chow, who is a Penang state executive councillor, was referring to media reports yesterday that Bukit Aman has set up six committees to investigate allegations of police brutality during the July 9 Bersih rally.

This is in addition to two panels already set up by the Kuala Lumpur police.

Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim said Radio-Television Malaysia was ready to broadcast police footage of the rally showing the aggressive behaviour of some of the protesters.

Chow, who is also the MP for Tanjong, views with suspicion the call by the police for members of the public to volunteer evidence.

People are not excluded from the risk of being investigated as participants of what the police insist was an illegal gathering organised by an illegal organisation, he said.

"The police have shown in the past they are more than able in digging up obscure material on the Internet and using it as evidence," he added.

"There is nothing to stop them from doing the same now. The abundance of videos and photographs published in the social media should make this task a fairly simple one."

NONE On July 9, tens of thousands of protesters thronged the streets of KL, and police responded by firing tear gas and chemical-laced water, as well as arresting 1,667 people, including MPs, all of whom were released the same night.

Police estimated the Bersih 2.0 rally participants to number about 6,000, while independent observers said the figure amounted to some 50,000 people.

Until today, the government and police insist that the gathering, supported by 62 NGOs, is illegal.

The government has defended the police action, saying the force had done a good job to maintain peace and order.

However, Chow maintained that police reaction by probing into the allegations of brutality against them was indicative of their guilt, especially when considering the swift denials issued by top officials immediately after the rally.

"Even Prime Minister Najib Razak told the nation there was no actual physical contact used on peaceful protesters, which is an outright untruth," the Padang Kota assemblyperson said.

"How then can the people expect anything good to come out of this latest round of investigations the police are subjecting themselves to?" he asked.