Let police probe sex video case, say lawyers

PETALING JAYA: The police should be free to investigate the allegations of the sex videos that have gone viral without fear or favour, say lawyers and civil society organisations.

This comes in the wake of the statement by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Wednesday dismissing the lewd videos implicating Economics Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali as being “cooked up” and politically motivated.

Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association (PPMM) president Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar said many people, be it politicians or netizens, had voiced their views on the authenticity of the videos.

“I understand that police reports have been made by several parties. Therefore, let the law take its course.

“There is no need for involvement in this process, let alone coming up with own conclusions when investigations have not been conducted,” he said in a statement.

Zainul also said that the government should not come up with conclusions as it may be misconstrued as giving orders on the outcome of the investigations.

“Let the authorities do their investigation freely and fairly,” he said.

Malaysian Bar president Datuk Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor said the police were professionals and would not be influenced by any parties.

“When there is a report lodged with the police, the police will open an investigation paper and investigate it. Whatever comments others make will not influence the police investigation,” he said when contacted.

Lawyer Syahredzan Johan said that Dr Mahathir was merely expressing his personal opinion, and it had no bearing on the police investigation.

“Whatever the Prime Minister says is his opinion.

“His opinion should not matter to the police investigation,” he said when contacted.

Syahredzan, who is also DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang’s political secretary, said it would be a different scenario if Dr Mahathir had interfered with the police.

“It is only a problem if the Prime Minister had ordered the investigation to be concluded or the police to stop investigating because of his statement,” he said.

Transparency International Malaysia (TI) president Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar said the police should be allowed to investigate the case without interference.

“The police are professional, and there shouldn’t be any problem for them to conduct their investigation solely on police reports,” he said when contacted.

He noted that the police had experience in investigating such reports and possessed the skills to collect and gather evidence related to the case.

On Wednesday, Dr Mahathir said people were able to produce any picture they wanted if they were clever enough to do so.

“One day, you may see my picture also like that,” he was reported as saying.