Splitting from Azmin, Saifuddin says only knew of 'sex clip forensic results' later

 

Saifuddin Abdullah said he was in the dark about the outcome of a forensic probe on a sex video implicating his former PKR ally Azmin Ali when he quit the party on the heels of the latter - a revelation that added distance to an already fraying alliance.

The Indera Mahkota MP, fresh off being replaced as Pahang state liaison chief for Perikatan Nasional, said he only learned of the forensic report on the 2019 video after he and 10 other then-PKR MPs followed Azmin into Bersatu during the Sheraton Move crisis in 2020.

“I only knew of the results of the forensic report of the video much later,” he briefly told Malaysiakini today while declining to disclose additional details on the matter.

Saifuddin (above, left) said this when asked about his recent call for Azmin, who is the Bersatu secretary-general, to be removed from the post to rid the party of “moral problems” negatively impacting its reputation.

Saifuddin’s views on the “moral problems”, revealed on Oct 26 via a statement signed by the Bersatu division leaders for Pasir Salak, Puchong, Dungun, Jasin, and Selayang, were understood to be a reference to Azmin's sex video scandal six years ago, which has become ammunition in the fight to control Bersatu.

Saifuddin and Azmin were once seen as political confidants, with the former foreign minister appearing to be part of Azmin’s faction in PKR during the turbulent months following the 2019 scandal.

Both later defected amid the Sheraton Move following then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation in February 2020, which triggered the collapse of the first Pakatan Harapan government and paved the way for Bersatu’s rise to power.

Calls for Muhyiddin to step down

Besides Azmin, Saifuddin and the six other Bersatu division leaders had also called for party president Muhyiddin Yassin to step down and make way for new leadership, while also appealing for its information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz to be replaced.

Previously, Saifuddin had attended a press conference held by now-axed Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan, during which the latter hinted at fresh developments in an investigation into the sex video targeting Azmin.

Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan

Wan Saiful, who was sacked from the party on Oct 14, claimed that after the Bersatu convention last year, he had received “new information” alleging that a forensic investigation determined the video to be authentic.

“I expressed my view to several people that as long as this ‘perverse video’ issue remains unresolved, Azmin is not suitable to be a leader in Bersatu,” the Tasek Gelugor MP said.

Besides Wan Saiful, Bersatu had also sacked four party division chiefs and suspended its Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal for one term.

Azmin has since warned party leaders and members at all levels not to engage with individuals who have been subjected to disciplinary action by the party’s disciplinary board, asserting that such actions would constitute a serious breach of the party’s constitution and code of conduct. - Mkini