The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is in favour of former Chief Justice of Borneo Steve Shim over former inspector-general of police Hanif Omar as the head of the independent panel probing the Bersih 3.0 violence.

steve shim chief justice of sabah and sarawak In a press release today, NUJ president Chin Sung Chew said Shim ( left ) should not be an ordinary member of the panel, while there are many factors which made Hanif unsuitable for the role.

“This is the first time in our history that a retired senior judge was reduced to being an ordinary member of a panel,” said Chin.

Chin said the NUJ has no objections to other members of the panel, but suggested that the panel should include experts on human rights and press freedom.

azlan On Hanif, Chin said the NUJ was of the opinion that Hanif’s appointment was inappropriate because he had reportedly made “adverse remarks” concerning Bersih 3.0 by supporting claims that the rally was an attempt to topple the government

Chin said the public would like find the panel’s finding unconvincing because he was a former top cop and it would discourage eyewitnesses and victims from coming forward.

Other than Hanif and Shim, the other panel members are Sinar Harian managing editor Hussamuddin Yaacub, Media Chinese International (Sin Chew group) legal adviser Liew Peng Chuan, Petronas corporate affairs senior general manager Medan Abdullah and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer Dr Ruszmi Ismail.

The panel is to meet soon to decide on their terms of reference.