Suhakam may recommend to the Parliament that the selection of judges be done by a panel of eminent citizens, said human rights commissioner Anuar Zainal Abidin today.

""As far as selection of judges is concerned, I would agree with some criticism that there should be more transparency - that it is better for the selection of judges to be done by a panel consisting, for instance, of retired judges, senior lawyers and senior citizens," he told malaysiakini .

Anuar, who is former chief justice of Malaya, added that such changes would, however, require amendments to the Constitution.

Under the present Constitution, the Chief Justice and Federal Court judges are appointed by the Conference of Rulers based on the advice of the prime minister.

Anuar said that he is unsure whether Suhakam has the powers to propose changes to the selection of judges.

"If I find that Suhakam can do something about it, I'll suggest it to my commission. We might put forth a proposal that there may be changes in the method of selection," he said.

Seeking the truth

Meanwhile, Anuar said that the Suhakam inquiry on the Nov 5 rally seeks to determine the truth behind allegations of police brutality and identify the individuals involved.

"The decision in this case is to find out whether the allegations are true and who is to be blamed," said Anuar, who last year headed the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the injuries Anwar Ibrahim sustained while in police custody.

The two-day inquiry, to begin tomorrow, will investigate the police crackdown on the 100,000 People's Gathering on the Kesas highway early this month ([#1]Suhakam inquiry into Kesas highway gathering tomorrow[/#], Nov 28).

The assembly, numbering close to 10,000 reformasi supporters, though some estimated there were thousands more, was originally scheduled to be held on a piece of private land but police roadblocks forced the crowd to abandon their vehicles on the highway and march toward the venue.

The supporters including BA leaders were then met with a barrage of tear gas and other chemical irritants. Charges of police brutality were made by the protestors and according to the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre, 26 of those detained have suffered from a number of injuries.

Assisting Anuar on the panel of inquiry are commissioners Mehrun Siraj and Simon Sipaun.

[#2]Not a court hearing, but a fact-finding inquiry[/#]