KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysian police have arrested six people – including former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) youth leader Haziq Aziz – linked to a series of viral sex videos implicating the ruling party’s deputy president Azmin Ali.

National criminal investigation chief Huzir Mohamed confirmed that “they are being remanded for six days” after being arrested on Sunday night.

The magistrate court allowed the remand of the individuals, who include other PKR members, until Saturday under Section 377B of the Penal Code, which punishes unnatural sexual relations, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, concerning abuse of network facilities. The Straits Times understands that investigations are centred on distribution of pornography.

Mr Haziq was sacked as principal private secretary to a deputy minister after alleging that he and Datuk Seri Azmin, who is Economic Affairs Minister, were the two men in the clips that surfaced early last month.

Mr Azmin has denied this claim and alleged a conspiracy from within his own party, the largest in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, to destroy his political standing. The former Selangor menteri besar’s career has blossomed in the past five years, and he is seen as a potential future premier.

A faction aligned with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim – who is slated to take over as prime minister from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad under the pact’s transition agreement – has urged Mr Azmin to step down during the ongoing probe into the affair.

However, Datuk Seri Anwar has distanced himself from such calls, and insisted there is no evidence pointing to the party’s involvement in the video clips.

Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador said last Saturday that the force is closing in on an “alliance” that spread the clips anonymously via WhatsApp to PKR members and journalists. “We are searching for those responsible for abusing social media to distribute this material. This is an offence. We have an idea who the mastermind is,” he said.

The national police chief added that they have tracked down the phones used to release the videos but were “still waiting for lab results to determine the authenticity of the video”.

Mr Haziq was previously detained by police for questioning on June 14, but released the next day.

Shannon Teoh and Nadirah H. Rodzi

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