Sex Video Scandals Spice Up Malaysian Politics

Sex video scandals in Malaysia involving prominent politicians by far have not really ended in political tsunamis for some key players.

Except for the first case involving D.P. Vijandran of the MIC who has never made a comeback after his fall, there are survivors from these exposes. A case in point is Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek of MCA, who was featured in another video scandal.

The tapes went public and Chua, who was then Health Minister admitted he was the one in the video. Perhaps, due to his honesty, party members elected him as president of the MCA, the second largest component of the Barisan Nasional.

In the latest video scandal implicating Datuk Seri Anwar Inbrahim, the now de facto leader of the Opposition, much will depend on the authenticity of the video clip.

In the case of Anwar Ibrahim, who was then Deputy Prime Minister in 1998, his boss, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, gave him a choice –either retire gracefully or face public exposure and ridicule over his alleged sexual escapades. But Anwar, who has always been a fighter, chose to stay and fight. He was only just one step from becoming Prime Minister.

It’s been ages, and Anwar is still fighting. Anwar is currently facing a second sodomy charge brought by his former aide.

In the latest fiasco involving Anwar, the video itself has not been made public. Those who who have watched the video are a small group of journalists invited by Datuk T, who turned out be three individuals known to Anwar.

One of them is Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik, the former chief minister of Melaka who also fell from grace after another sex scandal. The three men unmasked themselves during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur recently, two days after the video was shown to the journalists at a private function in Carcosa.

Rahim said Mr T was a collective moniker for himself, a prominent businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and a less-well-known man named Shui b Lazim, who was not present at the press conference.

Shazeyl said he was the one who found the video, and that he took it to the other two men to decide what to do with it. The journalists were shown a graphic sex video featuring a man who looked like opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The Opposition has pledged to fight allegations that nwar was filmed having sex with a prostitute insisting its leader’s troubles won’t fracture his three-party alliance ahead of national elections expected within a year.

The video has not been publicly circulated, but opposition officials are scrambling to convince people that it is a plot hatched by the government.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak denied authorities made the video.

Anwar’s top allies held a news conference last week to voice their support for him, claiming the video was simply the latest effort to smear Anwar’s reputation.

“All Malaysians must express their outrage and condemnation that Malaysian politics have reached a new depth of character assassination,” said Lim Kit Siang, a veteran official in the Democratic Action Party.

The opposition believes the release of the video was timed ahead Sarawak state election next month. Anwar’s alliance needs to perform well in the election to boost its flagging morale ahead of snap national polls that many believe Najib will call by early 2012.

Anwar filed a police complaint last Tuesday seeking an investigation into what he described as “an orchestrated attempt to force my wife and me out of national politics.”

“I will fight them, and I will fight them hard,” Anwar said.

Those who saw the video say there is a striking resemblance between the man in the video and Anwar. The PKR leader at a press conference recently noted there is a resemblance but said the man in the video has a bigger belly.

On a more serious note, Anwar said during the time stamped on the video (about 10.30pm on Feb 21), he was at home with his staff and family members.

Some groups have also called for a royal commission to investigate Anwar’s involvement in the sex video.

Of late, the latest internet chat rooms, portals and the Facebook community were abuzz with the sex revelations, with skeptics even saying that the tape was doctored.

PKR's Batu MP Tian Chua, in his tweet, described the "special viewing of a doctored video of Anwar Ibrahim" to the media as a desperate tactic by Barisan Nasional to distract the debate from policies and governance ahead of the Sarawak polls.

"(Barisan) shifted to focus on smearing and character assassination. The whole purpose of the exercise is to smear (Anwar's name).

On March 22, Anwar filed a report regarding this issue to the Dang Wangi police headquarters. He denied the allegations and told that he is not the man in that sex video.

In all these charges against Anwar, the veteran politician has denied all allegations against him,saying that he was a victim of conspiracy by the BN government to smear his name for the past 13 years.

Meanwhile, the search is on for the tape on the internet. Someone by now would have access to the video tape, and it will be a matter of time when some smart aleck upload it for the world to watch.