TWENTY-EIGHT PKR central committee members and lawmakers today hit out at party president Anwar Ibrahim for not standing by his number two Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is embroiled in a divisive sex video scandal.

In a statement signed by the 28 senior PKR leaders – all aligned to Azmin – they said Anwar should focus on condemning the attempt to use gutter politics to bring down political leaders rather than suggest that Azmin resign if the veracity of the sex video is established.

“We are of the view that this statement is inappropriate and based on speculative assertions,” they said in the statement.

Anwar told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday that Azmin should resign from his cabinet post as economic affairs minister if it is confirmed Azmin is the person in the leaked sex video.

“He (Anwar) should be more concerned about the criminal offences committed by this group who have systematically and widely distributed a video displaying sexual acts,” they said.

They added that when the sex video initially emerged, Anwar had made a different statement, saying Azmin did not need to resign from his position.

“Azmin has categorically denied the video. Anwar should as party president stand by his deputy in the interest of party unity and not seek to undermine him.”

Azmin is implicated in the sex video, along with former Santubong PKR youth chief Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz.

So far, police have arrested nine people, who are being investigated for the distribution of obscene material.

Those arrested include Haziq and Perak PKR chief Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak. Farhash is also Anwar’s political secretary.

Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador said police are not ruling out the possibility that there is a conspiracy behind the videos, and those arrested have taken orders from a higher-up.

The leaders who signed the statement are its four vice-presidents – Zuraida Kamaruddin, Tian Chua Tian, Dr Xavier Jayakumar and Ali Biju; its women chief Haniza Talha; Haniza’s deputy Dr Daroyah Alwi; deputy secretary-general Dr Edmund R. Santhara Kumar; Sarawak party chief Baru Bian; deputy youth chief Muhammad Hilman Idham; and party council members Amirudin Shari, Rashid Hasnon, Sivarasa Rasiah, Rahimah Majid, Elizabeth Wong, Saifuddin Abdullah, Zakaria Abdul Hamid, Mohd Radzlan Jalaludin, Dr Mansor Othman, Kamarudin Jaafar, Azmizam Zaman Huri, Gan Pei Nei, Hee Loy Sian and Lee Kai Loon.

The five MPs who also support Azmin are Steven Choong (Tebrau), Jonathan Yasin (Ranau), Willy Mongin (Puncak Borneo), Maria Chin Abdullah (Petaling Jaya) and Chan Ming Kai (Alor Setar).

The leaders also reminded Anwar that since the reform movement started, the party has defended him against identical tactics using sex videos and other means of gutter politics even when the then inspector-general of police in 2011 declared a sex video implicating him as genuine.

“He should remember that Azmin defended him and his family for more than 20 years against the same type of gutter politics.”

Azmin reacted angrily to Anwar’s suggestion that the former resign by asking his president to reflect on what he had suggested.

“Look at the man in the mirror. Read my lips, tell him to look in the mirror.

“Ask Anwar to ‘muhasabah diri’ (self-introspect) and reflect on himself,” Azmin told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad also said yesterday he continues to stand by his conviction that the distribution of the sex clips was a political conspiracy to topple Azmin. – July 18, 2019.