UPDATE3 Segments of the pornographic video tape allegedly implicating Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim - this time depicting explicit sexual acts - have surfaced on YouTube.
The release of the clips appear timed to coincide with an the oath-taking ceremony at a mosque by one of the Datuk T trio - Shazryl Eskay Abdullah - and aimed drawing maximum public attention in a bid to destroy Anwar's political career.
The Datuk T trio are all members of the ruling party, Umno. They are linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak and former premier Mahathir Mohamad. There has been speculation the sex video scam was cooked up by the ruling elite to turn the Malay community against Anwar.
But it may have backfired as closer shots (right) of the latest snippets show distinct differences in physique and facial features of the man they have accused of being Anwar, and who was filmed having sex with a prostitute.
"What else is there but to continue to push through the scam. Their object from day one is to tarnish Anwar and they don't care if it is true or not. They believe if they keep at it, the Malay community will believe in the scandal sheets that will keep insisting the figure is Anwar," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
Using Islam for the worst purposes
On Friday, 4 clips of about 4 minutes each were uploaded on YouTube before they were taken down for obscene content an hour later. The clips showed the man having penetrative and oral sex with the woman.
After prayers, Shazryl is due to take the sumpah laknat at the Sentul mosque and he has challenged Anwar to do the same. His Datuk T team-mates - former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thambi Chik and Perkasa treasurer Shuaib Lazim - have balked at doing so, although they have given their support.
"In Islam, only the person who has been accused can take the oath and not the person who is accusing. Why is Shazryl Eskay taking oath? It is irrelevant. Let the MACC and the police do their work and we will just wait and see what will happen. According to Islamic law, what the Datuk T trio did deserves a heavy sentence because it involves not just the family of the victim, but it will also scar them to life," PAS MP for Kuala Selangor Dzulkefly Ahmad told Malaysia Chronicle.
"What Anwar and his family are going through is an emotional torture. This case should have already been on trial because the trio has already committed a crime and should be investigated under Section 292 of the Penal Code for screening porn in public."
The 21-minute sex video had cropped up last month, on the same day the Sarawak legislative assembly was dissolved paving the way for state polls. The Datuk T - at that time keeping their identities anonymous and wearing masks to partially cover their faces - had invited select journalists to a screening of the video at a swanky hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Their purpose, they said, was to show to the Malaysian public that Anwar was not a fit leader. They also showed the tape to various leaders in Anwar's Pakatan Rakyat coalition and tried to lure these men over to the BN.
But screening sexually explicit tapes in public is illegal in Malaysia and punishable by jail of up to 5 years. Yet the police have failed to arrest or even charge the "protected" men.
"There was already distribution of a pornographic video and I think that the police gave the distributors protection. If not, it is impossible that the video clip can be distributed without police action and I had actually told the police about the crime of distributing pornography without pressure or action from the police," Anwar had told reporters on Thursday.
Najib's own Altantuya D-Day next month
Both Anwar and his family have denied it was him in the sex video. But painful while it must be to be so unfairly tarnished, to an extent they have become strengthened by the sheer Umno cruelty against their family.
In 1998, facing a challenge of power that he knew he would lose, Mahathir and his cohorts hatched the first sodomy trial against Anwar, who was then deputy prime minister and finance minister. The charges were overturned and Anwar acquitted but only after he was forced to spend 6 years in prison.
Next month, the French courts are due to begin public hearings of Najib's own scandalous case involving kickbacks in Malaysia's RM6.7billion acquisition of Scorpene submarines from European arms giant DCNS.
Apart from having allegedly skimmed hundreds of millions of ringgit in comission from DCNS, which in the end was paid by Malaysian taxpayers in the form of a bloated cost price, the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu is bound to be raked up especially by the international media.
Both Najib and his friend Razak Baginda have been accused of having an affair with Altantuya, who was murdered in Malaysia in 2006. Two former bodyguards of the first couple have been sentenced to hang for her death although the men had no motive, and their testimony that they were paid RM100,000 each to kill her was suppressed by the courts.
Many political watchers believe the current heat on the Datuk T sex video is aimed at deflecting attention from the Paris hearing.
"There is substantial evidence of corruption and some of it is new information of new corruption uncovered during investigation. Some of this could be sensitive or embarrassing to the Malaysian government but that is part of the process of helping Malaysian taxpayers recover their money lost through corrupt deals,” SUARAM board member Cynthia Gabriel had told Malaysia Chronicle.
Altantuya's murder will not be part of the Parisian hearing, but questions as to whether she had acted as translator for Baginda and the Malaysian defense ministry will be raised and Najib, who was then the defense minister who sanctioned the deal, will face his D-Day here. - Malaysia Chronicle
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