Malaysian minister implicated in gay sex video, prompting comparisons with Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy scandal

Politician Muhammad Haziq Abdul Aziz from Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR claimed to be the other man in the video. He named the minister and said he was unfit to hold a government position

Analysts said the move to sully the cabinet minister’s reputation came from a tried and tested playbook, referring to the sodomy accusations that blighted Anwar in the 1990s

5-MIN READ5-MIN

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (second from right) said on Tuesday during a cabinet meeting he did not know anything about the video and could not comment. Photo: Facebook

Published: 1:56pm, 12 Jun 2019Updated: 9:16pm, 13 Jun 2019

A series of videos depicting a man resembling a cabinet minister having sexual relations with a younger male politician has gone viral in Malaysia, taking the country down an all-too familiar route, say analysts, as comparisons were immediately drawn with the sodomy rumours that hounded democracy icon Anwar Ibrahim for years.

Muhammad Haziq Abdul Aziz, a member of Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR), on Wednesday confessed to being the younger man in the video, naming the minister and claiming the leader was unfit to hold any government position.

In a Facebook video, Haziq, who is also an aide to a different minister, said the video had been shot without his permission on May 11 during a by-election in the state of Sabah in the minister’s hotel room.

“I urge the MACC (Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission) to investigate [the minister] for corruption. He is not an individual qualified to be leader,” he said of his alleged sex partner, who he claimed was also from PKR.

The case has prompted comparisons with Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy scandal. Photo: AP

In a statement, PKR secretary general Saifuddin Nasution said the party firmly rejected “any form of dirty political games”.

“This style and method of politics do not bring any benefit to society or the nation,” Saifuddin said, urging people to not share the video.