The Malaysian Insight

BERSATU president Muhyiddin Yassin hopes the tension in fellow Pakatan Harapan (PH) partner PKR following a sex video scandal will cool down as it is not healthy for the ruling coalition as a whole.

The home minister said he hopes the matter will be resolved soon.

“I don’t want to advise because they are all my friends and my brothers in PH. Of course, we always pray that things such as this will end sooner than later.

“This issue is not going to be good for all of us. I think we all know that. Not only for PH and the government but also the people of Malaysia,” he said.

However, Muhyiddin said hopes are not lost for the ruling coalition.

“I don’t want to say (it is) self destruction. I’m not pessimistic about things. So let it hopefully cool down. I don’t know what more to say. (We can) only pray.”

Meanwhile, Amanah leader Hanipa Maidin said it is not unusual for party leaders to have tiffs among themselves, especially in a democratic setting.

“In politics if you don’t fight with a foe, you fight among yourselves.

“It is normal. It is nothing unusual,” he said.

The deputy de facto law minister also said that PKR’s internal issues will not jeopardise the ruling coalition.

“For me it is a conflict, it’s not a crisis. It has not turned into a crisis.”

Hanipa said PKR is mature enough to resolve their problems without interference from other parties.

“Let them solve the problem. We don’t want to interfere. I believe PKR is mature enough to settle their problems without interference from any other political party.”

DAP leaders approached by The Malaysian Insight’s declined to comment on the matter.

Earlier today, PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin admitted that there are cracks in the party following the wide circulation of a sex video implicating deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali.

However, she said it was time for PKR to heal the cracks and strengthen the party.

She was among the 28 PKR central committee members and lawmakers who hit out at party president Anwar Ibrahim for not standing by his number two Azmin.

However, Anwar said this morning that he has accepted the views of party leaders.

Last month, a series of clips showing two men engaging in sexual acts was released on WhatsApp.

Former Santubong PKR youth chief Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz then admitted to being one of the men in the videos and implicated Azmin.

Azmin, the economic affairs minister, had denied the claims, calling it a plot to ruin his career.

So far, nine individuals have been arrested and remanded for investigations for the production and distribution of the sex video. Those arrested include Haziq and Anwar’s political secretary Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak. – July 18, 2019.