LANGKAWI • Mr Haziq Aziz had wanted to run for public office in the future but his dreams have been dashed after a sex video scandal.
His shocking admission that he was one of two men in the clip and his claim that Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali was the other man has hurt his political hopes.
Furthermore, the Santubong Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Youth chief has been slapped with a show-cause letter by his party over the controversy. He was also sacked as senior private secretary to the Deputy Primary Industries Minister. The ministry viewed his admission as "of a sordid nature".
"This sex video scandal has affected my political dream but to what extent, I'm not really sure. But of course, in a bad way. For now, I have to forget about becoming a politician," he said.
Mr Haziq felt it was tragic that he got dragged into a conspiracy to bring down Datuk Seri Azmin politically. "I'm a victim. I am not involved in the conspiracy and I have no idea who is behind it. I leave it to the police to investigate.
"Of course, the Malay-Muslim community can't accept this kind of behaviour. But one thing is I admit - I did it. It was a mistake and the right thing to do was to confess," he said.
Last Saturday, The Star spoke to Mr Haziq in Langkawi, where he was taking a break from the ordeal. Here are excerpts from the one-hour interview.
Q How did you and your family react when the sex video surfaced?
A My family was very sad about this. On the day it went viral, my mum cried non-stop. My family was even afraid to leave the house (in Kuching). When I made the video confession, they were shocked. At first, they thought that the video confession was fake. I told them, "look it was not fake, it was me". They had to accept it.
Honestly, my family is very sad because my family is very conservative. And they want to jaga (take care of) the good name of the family.
Q How's your life been in the last few days?
A I don't have my phone now. I have thrown it away as I am afraid that someone will track me and kill me. I am very paranoid now. So, I just stay in the house and watch TV and read books. Right now, I'm reading Francis Fukuyama's Identity: The Demand For Dignity And The Politics Of Resentment, and watching Netflix's Peaky Blinders (a TV drama on a notorious gang in 1919 Birmingham, England).
Q What's next for you?
A Right now, I don't have a plan. But I can always go back to law practice in Kuching.
Q When was the first time you met Mr Azmin?
A It was when I helped his campaign team in the PKR elections in 2014. Azmin was defending his deputy president's post against (former) Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. After Azmin won and became Menteri Besar, I helped him professionally at first and then our relationship started to be more intimate.
Q What was your personal impression of him?
A He was a very charming guy and very interesting.
Q How did it happen? Did you fall in love with him?
A At first, we communicated using BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) because it was safer and more secure. We talked about party elections as I needed to report to him on what happened on the ground. But after the polls were over, we talked about casual things. And then I started to feel that he was homosexual when he gave hints. This was in 2016, when he was already Selangor Menteri Besar.
Q Are you gay or bisexual?
A Ah... ah... I don't want to answer this question.
Q Did you ever have a girlfriend?
A Yeah.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
