Farhash clears the air over his whereabouts

PETALING JAYA: Perak PKR chief Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak has come forward to clear the air regarding his whereabouts following the circulation of sex video clips implicating Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.

 

Responding to a social media graphic being circulated on this, Farhash told Malaysiakini that the news reports cited in the image quoted sources on his whereabouts.

"They cited sources, not me. I have been back from a course for some time," he told the news portal on Tuesday (June 18).

 

Speculation on social media linked Farhash to Santubong PKR Youth chief Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz, who confessed that he was one of the men in the video, after the latter was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday (June 14). Haziq  was released on police bail the next day.

 

There were also claims that the state PKR chief could not be contacted since the first sex video clip was circulated.

Farhash, who is PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's political secretary, said his course was at the Harvard University in the United States.

He is currently on leave to work on his PhD in Management.

Farhash has been linked to the scandal, with one news report claiming there were discussions in PKR WhatsApp groups on how he went missing, and remained incommunicado when the clips surfaced.

 

Farhash, however, told Malaysiakini that he was not linked to the scandal and being Anwar's aide made him a convenient target.

On the same note, he said Azmin, who claimed there was a nefarious plot to ruin his career, should resign if the video clips were genuine.

 

Earlier, Perak PKR deputy chief M. A. Tinagaran dismissed speculation that Farhash was involved in the sex video scandal.

"I was made to understand that (Farhash) is still on holiday but he is following local political developments," said Tinagaran.

He also questioned why Farhash's absence was being scrutinised as the video involved someone else.

 

A third wave of video clips implicating Azmin has also surfaced, this time uploaded on YouTube.

The 46-second long audio-only clip, titled "Azmin love Haziq 3/4" posted on the file-sharing website shows a discussion between two men agreeing to meet discreetly at a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur in March this year.

The uploader of the clips claimed that the men talking are the same individuals as those in the recent sex videos.

In the past week, clips of a sex video involving two men have gone viral, followed by a confession by Haziq that he was one of the two men in the videos.

He also claimed that the other person was Azmin, who is also PKR deputy president.

Azmin had categorically denied the allegation, saying it was made to tarnish his reputation and destroy his political career.

Haziq is being investigated under four charges, including Section 377B of the Penal Code for carnal intercourse against the order of nature and Section 292 for distributing obscene materials.