KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Akin has denied hiring Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz for a nefarious agenda, after his senior private secretary implicated minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali in a sex video.

PKR information chief Shamsul Iskandar said Haziq joined PKR when he was 19, and that he got to know the 27-year-old in 2012 when the latter founded PKR’s student wing, Mahasiswa Keadilan Universiti Malaya.

Shamsul Iskandar also pointed out that before joining his office, Haziq previously interned with several PKR leaders, namely Baru Bian at his law firm; Sivarasa Rasiah, Latheefa Koya, and N. Surendran at their non-governmental organisation Lawyers for Liberty; Azmin’s office when he was then Selangor Mentri Besar; and at Senator Yusmadi Yusoff’s firm.

“I want to stress again that his actions were extremely shocking and completely unexpected,” Shamsul Iskandar said in a statement.

Advertisement

“I urge those who make baseless and defamatory allegations that I supposedly had a certain agenda in appointing Haziq to quit making such accusations. I also stress that I reject any gutter politics that seek to destroy the good name of any leader or individual.”

Shamsul Iskandar said Haziq had helped him in several matters related to parliamentary research and was also the liaison with young leaders in PKR.

The primary industries deputy minister also noted that Haziq has sworn he never joined PBB and had only worked with former de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri from the Sarawak party as a Perdana Fellow intern.

Advertisement

He said he hired Haziq to replace his senior private secretary who had resigned based on Haziq’s academic qualifications, administrative experience, and the need for the Primary Industries Ministry to get a representative from Sarawak or Sabah.

Santubong PKR Youth chief Haziq has accused Azmin of being his sexual partner in several sex videos that were leaked last week on social messaging platform WhatsApp. Azmin has denied the allegations.

Shamsul Iskandar suspended Haziq after the scandal broke.