JOHOR BARU: A video clip alleging that a local councillor was involved in obscene activities was created with malicious intent, says Johor MCA deputy chairman Ling Tian Soon.
He said that the 43-second video containing a photo of a local councillor and some indecent images was sent anonymously to a Chinese daily on Saturday (Jan 18), and the report suggested the councillor was a Malaysian Chinese man.
"It is known that all Chinese local councillors in Johor are MCA representatives, so we need to address this matter,” said Ling.
He added that the language in the video appears to be Vietnamese, and then said that nothing in it resembles the councillor except for similarities in height.
“Nevertheless, I have advised the councillor in question to lodge a police report as this tarnishes his name, the party's image and the image of local councillors as a whole," he said in an online press conference on Sunday (Jan 19).
Ling, who is also the state health and environment committee chairman, added that including a photo of the councillor in the video could mislead the public into thinking he was the person in the video.
Asked whether the video was a smear campaign against the councillor and the party, Ling said they did not want to speculate and would leave it to the police to investigate.
In the Chinese daily news report, the councillor, believed to be from a local council in Johor south, denied engaging in such acts.
He also said he was a pious Buddhist and would not engage in such activities.
There are a total of 126 local councillors from MCA in Johor.