Haziq Abdul Aziz detained for role in Malaysian sex video implicating minister Azmin Ali
- Haziq, a former political aide, claimed he had a same-sex affair with Azmin Ali, the influential economic affairs minister who is considered a potential successor to Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister, despite a pact for Anwar Ibrahim to take power
- He and five others have been remanded for six days as part of police investigations
The Malaysiakini news portal on Monday reported Haziq and five others had been remanded for six days as part of the police investigations into a sex video the 27-year-old former aide claimed showed him and Azmin in a hotel room in the state of Sabah.
The news portal quoted Huzir Mohamed, the federal criminal and investigations department director, as saying the probe was linked to a section in the penal code regarding the distribution of obscene material. He said the remand order was obtained earlier on Monday.
‘I categorically deny this vicious libel’: Malaysian minister Azmin Ali condemns gay sex video
On Saturday police chief Abdul Hamid Bador said investigators had found “evidence of a conspiracy and a plot” implicating a minister that was aimed “to topple someone”. He said police had not ruled out the involvement of politicians and “non-governmental organisations”.
However, Mahathir last year handed Azmin, 54, control of a powerful new ministry overseeing major state-owned companies, fuelling reports of a rivalry between Anwar and Azmin.
They have sparred publicly over a range of issues since last year’s watershed election, in which the Pakatan Harapan coalition ended the Barisan Nasional bloc’s six-decade rule.
Minister’s aide asked me to lie, says Haziq Abdul Aziz
Observers have speculated privately that Anwar’s political allies orchestrated the sex video scandal to forestall any plan for Mahathir to install Azmin instead of Anwar as the country’s next leader.
Anwar has dismissed suggestions he had anything to do with the video, and Mahathir has said he is committed to handing over power to Anwar.
After Haziq made his allegation public via Facebook, he was sacked from his job as an aide to deputy primary industries minister Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, who is also from PKR. The party, the largest component of the ruling coalition, also sacked him as a party member.