Harapan the collateral damage of PKR sex video affair?

With tensions escalating within PKR over the sex video purportedly implicating Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali and with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad saying he will not be “used” by those behind the video, questions abound on whether this rift will spill over to Pakatan Harapan.

Malaysiakini spoke to a couple of political analysts who were divided on whether the fallout from the sex video would damage the ties within Pakatan Harapan.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) professor Jeniri Amir said it is likely that the rift within PKR would eventually spread to Pakatan Harapan if Mahathir, Azmin and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim do not handle the matter properly.

“If (Azmin and Anwar) keep on provoking each other, it is a big possibility that Harapan will be affected.

“If they cannot control the split within PKR, then it will spill over to Harapan,” he said when contacted by Malaysiakini today.

There appears to be a widening rift between Anwar and Azmin last week after Anwar suggested that Azmin should resign if the sex video implicating him is proven to be true.

This has prompted Azmin to hit back at Anwar, telling him to “look in a mirror”.

Anwar then appeared to have made efforts to deescalate the issue by offering an olive branch to Azmin, saying that he and Azmin, who is PKR deputy president, were still a team.

At a thanksgiving prayer event, Azmin said he agreed that they were still a team and said the media should not “provoke” their relationship.

At the same event, Azmin also gave a cryptic and defiant speech, vowing to rise up and fight even if he was faced with “the person whom I once knew”.

“But loyalty has its limits. I am loyal to truth and justice,” he said in that speech.

Jeniri said how Mahathir reacts to this matter would also play a huge role in whether Harapan will be affected by this sex video scandal.

The premier has to remain neutral and handle the matter professionally to prevent tensions from rising in Harapan as well, he said.

It is also crucial that Mahathir steers clear of meddling in PKR’s internal affairs, he added.

“The Mahathir factor is really important here. If Mahathir can control and not be used by certain quarters, then it should be above board.

“Do not be seen as siding somebody,” Jeniri said.

Earlier today, Mahathir had vowed not to be “used” by those behind the sex video, especially not by a “mastermind who has evil intentions and uses dirty politics”.

Meanwhile, political analyst Ahmad Atory Hussain insisted that the fallout from the sex video will not create any rifts within Harapan.

“Pakatan Harapan as a whole will not be affected. The ones who will be affected are only those who are directly involved in the videos.

“Azmin’s followers still want PKR to be strong and Anwar’s followers also want PKR to be strong,” Ahmad said.

Pakatan Harapan is already in the government, he said, and things were currently stable so there should not be any problems.

“As long as Mahathir is the prime minister, at this juncture, things are stable,” he said.

The sex video scandal could affect Harapan if there was a general election coming up soon, he said.

But since this is not the case, he said tensions within PKR would not affect cooperation between Harapan component parties.

First released in June, the video, released in several clips, depicted two men engaged in sexual acts.

Soon after, then-Santubong PKR Youth chief Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz confessed to being one of the men in the videos and named Azmin as the other. Haziq has since been sacked from the party.

Azmin denied the allegation and characterised the videos as a plot to destroy his political career. PKR president Anwar Ibrahim also denied involvement in the incident.

The police are investigating the case, and have since arrested several people – including Haziq, an unnamed PKR assemblyperson and Perak PKR chief Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak – to assist in their probe.

Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador said last week that the video is believed to be authentic but the facial recognition software used failed to ascertain the identities of those involved. - Mkini