PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Datuk Seri Azmin Ali should take a break from his official duties as Economic Affairs Minister until investigations into a sex video implicating him and a 27-year-old man are complete, says Otai Reformasi chairman Idris Ahmad.

"We are proposing that Azmin be given a 'break' from his official duties to allow the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to conduct investigations into the sex video which involves his image."

"This is to preserve the good name of the Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya," he told reporters during a press conference at Restaurant Amjal in Lembah Pantai on Friday (June 14).

Dr Idris also questioned Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's statement on the incident, in which he said the video could be "cooked up".

He said Tun Dr Mahathir's reaction was very different in 1998, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as the deputy prime minister and punished over alleged corrupt practices and sodomy.

"In 1998, Anwar was sacked and punished before police investigations commenced. But in 2019, Dr Mahathir's statement is very different."

"We hope Dr Mahathir will not practise double standards and be one-sided in commenting on the video," he added.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) was mired in scandal on Tuesday when a sex video, purportedly of Mr Azmin and Santubong PKR Youth chief Muhammad Haziq Abdul Aziz, went viral.

While Mr Haziq made a confession on Facebook that it was him and Mr Azmin in the video, the latter slammed the allegations as a nefarious plot to end his political career.

At the beginning of the event, Dr Idris explained that Otai Reformasi was a non-political movement formed by concerned citizens in 1998 to push for institutional reforms.

But the group, which was set up following Mr Anwar's sacking as deputy prime minister, is known for being pro-Anwar.

It now also comprises members of political parties such as PKR, Democratic Action Party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Amanah Negara.