A MALAY pressure group wants the Sultan of Selangor to intervene and advise Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali to step down, after becoming embroiled in a sex video scandal earlier this year.

Azmin, who has denied any involvement in the sex video, is assemblyman for Bukit Antarabangsa and Gombak MP. He is also the former menteri besar of Selangor.

Bangkit has called on Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah to intervene because the group believes the scandal has embarrassed the nation.

Group president Shahrin Azlan, 39, said the situation was made far worse because Azmin was a minister.

“We hope sultan will consider our appeal and advise Azmin to step down,” he told reporters after submitting a memorandum to the palace in Shah Alam today, received by the sultan’s private secretary Munir Bani.

Bangkit also submitted a copy of a forensic report by UK-based Verden Forensics to the Selangor palace.

The report was commissioned independently by Umno supreme council member Lokman Noor Adam to ascertain the video’s authenticity.

Former Santubong PKR Youth chief Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz has admitted to appearing in the sex video, while alleging Azmin was his partner.

Azmin had repeatedly denied the allegations and said the video was a plot to end his political career.

Earlier this week, Bangkit submitted a copy of the forensic report to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah for the king to intervene in the matter and urge the government to take appropriate action.

A copy of the forensic report had also been submitted to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We are disappointed in the government for its lack of action. As the people of Selangor, we now hope something will be forthcoming,” he said.

He added that a similar memo and copies of the forensic report will be distributed to all ministries to press the government to take action.

In July, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador said Cybersecurity Malaysia found the video likely to be authentic but could not conclusively identify either man involved through facial recognition software.

Eleven people have been detained over the case, including Haziq and Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, the latter is PKR president Anwar Ibrahim’s political secretary and Perak PKR chief.

All of those detained were subsequently released on police bail.

A series of six clips showing two men having sex was released yesterday after a lull of about two months. The clips are believed to be part of the same video. – September 6, 2019.