The BN government accused of concerted efforts to bring down Anwar Ibrahim with the public release of a two-minute clip of the sex video.
KUALA LUMPUR: A two-minute teaser of the sex video allegedly depicting Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim having sex with a prostitute has made its rounds across the country.
Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul said that he had received “calls” from sources, who told him that the video had been shown in numerous public places.
“I was told that the clip has been shown everywhere, not only on YouTube but also where there are young people studying,” the PKR MP told reporters at the Parliament lobby here today.
Johari alleged that the airing of the video clip in public places was an organised effort by the National Civics Bureau to defame Anwar’s name.
Many Pakatan Rakyat MPs were also present at the press conference, including Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh (DAP) and Tumpat MP Kamaruddin Jaffar (PAS).
The MPs decried the government’s move to allegedly discredit Anwar in the controversial 21-minute sex video first released to journalists and editors on March 21 by a trio of politicians.
Former Malacca chief minister Rahim Tamby Chik, businessman Shahzryl Eskay Abdullah and Perkasa treasurer Shuib Lazim took responsibility for airing the video.
Although a full copy of the video was handed over to the police, a 1:47-minute teaser nevertheless made its way to the Internet yesterday.
It was first spread through pro-Umno blogs including Pisau.net and Gerakan-Anti-PKR.
Concerted effort by media
Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff condemned mainstream newspapers such as Malay-language dailies Kosmo and Utusan Malaysia for showing still images taken from the two-minute teaser.
He pointed to the second and third pages of Kosmo, where an official picture of Anwar was placed side by side with one of the still images captured from the video.
The two images depicted Anwar and the character in the video standing in an identical posture.
“What is the motive of the juxtaposition of these enlarged images? Why are these two shown side by side?” Yusmadi asked angrily.
He added that Umno-owned media corporations such as TV3 and Utusan Malaysia have been instrumental in attacking Anwar over the past few days.
Throwing anti-Pakatan blogs into the mix, Yusmadi said that the video’s release was nothing more than a smear campaign against Anwar that had been in motion since 1998.
Who released the video?
Echoing Yusmadi’s sentiments, Subang MP R Sivarasa condemned TV3 for displaying the address where the alleged sex video could be found.
The PKR MP also posed a question to Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ismail Omar over the release of the video.
“Was it the police who released the video on the Internet? We want the IGP to explain. Was it the Datuk T trio who put it up? And what action will be taken for doing this?” he asked.
Sivarasa then quoted a written statement by Datuk T during the controversial screening of the 21-minute video to journalists at Carcosa Seri Negara.
“‘No one else has this recording, and I will not hand over copies to quarters for fear of reproduction and distribution,’” the MP said, reading from the statement.
But a few days later, Shahzryl said that there may have been more than one copy of the video.
“I never knew there was going to be a tape… and if I have it, somebody else has it too. Think about it. If I have, somebody else also has it. Somebody else has it,” Shahzryl said at the time.
Why have an RCI?
Karpal said that the government should have been more active in its role to apprehend the Datuk T trio, instead of calling for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI).
“If Anwar lodged a police report, that should be addressed (…) not a royal commission of inquiry,” he said.
According to the Malaysian Insider, BN intends to get a parliamentary motion to seek the formation of an RCI regarding the sex tape.
The online portal also said that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz planned to file the motion before the current parliamentary session ends this Thursday.
Karpal asked why the government had been reluctant to form RCI on other matters including the VK Lingam case and the high-profile Altantuya Sharibuu murder.
“What do we need an RCI for?” he asked aloud, arguing that the arrest of the trio behind Datuk T was much more important than a RCI.
The DAP strongman questioned why the trio were not arrested, as they had already admitted to the screening of the sex video.
Karpal said that the three could have been charged under four different laws, including Section 292 of the Penal Code.
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