Malaysia sex video: Accuser claims minister tried to cover up sex tryst
Civil servant says trysts with M'sia Economic Affairs Minister began 3 years ago
KUALA LUMPUR: Bombshell after bombshell have pitted the Malaysian political landscape with scandal involving videos of sordid sex, accusations of gutter politics and police reports.
It began when a video purportedly showing Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali having sex with a senior male civil servant started to make the rounds on Tuesday.
And then on Wednesday came bombshell No 1.
Mr Muhammad Haziq Abdul Aziz, the senior private secretary to the deputy minister of primary industries and commodities Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Aki, confessed that he was one of the men featured in the video clips.
He also named the minister and said the videos were taken without his knowledge on May 11 during the Sandakan by-election.
Mr Azmin vehemently denied the accusation and threatened legal action. He was supported by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief Anwar Ibrahim. Mr Azmin is deputy chief of PKR.
Then came bombshell 2.
More videos were released hours after Mr Azmin's denial.
Then yesterday came bombshell No 3. Mr Haziq yesterday accused Mr Azmin of trying to cover up their tryst, which he said had begun three years ago, by sending an aide to talk to him.
"I was scared and the only comfort I received from you was when you sent Hilman to meet me at Zest Restaurant in Marriot Putrajaya on that fateful day. I waited for an hour and it felt like I was a mere afterthought," he said in a Facebook posting Thursday morning, referring to Mr Azmin's political secretary.
"He forced me to deny that it was you in the viral video and asked me to lie for you. I asked for more time to consult my parents and this angered him.
"After I refused, he made threats and said 'this' will be shut down within 48 hours with or without my help to lie.
"It broke me that Azmin Ali, the man I looked up to choose to tie his loose ends rather than owning up to his mistakes.
"I know you are a sick man because only you could have recorded the videos for personal collection after inviting me to your hotel room on all occasions," he added.
Mr Haziq, who is also a PKR member, claimed he had first been invited to Mr Azmin's room at the Grand Continental Kuching three years ago, then again in the Sarawak capital last October in the midst of party polls.
He alleged that the relationship continued in Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur in March before the most recent encounter during last month's Sandakan by-election. Mr Hilman has confirmed meeting Mr Haziq on Tuesday, when the videos first surfaced but refused to comment further "as we have handed over all details to the police" on Thursday morning.
Mr Azmin again refuted the allegations yesterday.
He said people should not resort to cruel and filthy acts of political sabotage.
Mr Azmin said he supported Dr Mahathir's stand on the matter. Dr Mahathir said on Wednesday night that the videos were "cooked up" by someone with a political agenda.
"Things like these are dirty. If you cannot compete with someone don't do something like this," Dr Mahathir had said.
When asked if he knew the other man implicated in the video, Mr Azmin said he knew Mr Haziq by sight only.
"He's a party member, then he joined Barisan Nasional and when we won, he jumped back into Keadilan (PKR).
"That is the character of the individual used in this slander," said Mr Azmin. - THE STRAITS TIMES, THE STAR
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