UMNO's Desperation Spiraling Out Of Control

By Boo Su-Lyn The Malaysian InsiderJun 12, 2011

Mat Sabu has been described as the engine that will drive PAS forward. — file picKUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — PAS leaders are accusing Umno of being behind a sex video implicating Mohamad Sabu, saying it reflected the ruling Malay party’s desperation to find issue with their newly-elected deputy president.

PKR MP Zuraida Kamaruddin said she received a VCD in her mailbox recently that has a picture of Mohamad together with the words “Skandal Seks Mat Sabu” (Mat Sabu Sex Scandal), a letter with a forged PAS letterhead and a flyer containing pictures of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Mat Sabu is the PAS leader’s moniker.

“This shows that Umno has degenerated into a distributor of ‘blue’ films,” PAS central committee member Khalid Samad told The Malaysian Insider today.

“It occurred immediately after the muktamar… (it is to show that) for PAS’s supposedly religious inclinations, there are immoral leaders who push the ulamas into the background and they are listening to PKR and DAP more,” he added.

Mohamad won the deputy presidency in the recent PAS election, while professionals swept the top leadership and more than two-thirds of the central working committee.

Today, Khalid called the sex video a “very desperate” attempt by Umno to damage the Islamist party and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

“They’re at a loss for issues to be raised. What they try to portray is that the leaders of PKR and PAS are immoral,” said the Shah Alam MP.

Anwar has fallen victim to a similar scandal and is accused of being the main actor in a sex video that is making rounds nationwide. He is also facing the second sodomy charge of his career, 12 years after he was sacked as deputy prime minister for a similar offence.

PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa said the sex video implicating Mohamad revealed Umno’s personal attacks and “harassment” against PAS. “I think PAS has no time to entertain that,” said Husam. “We should focus on ethical politics,” added the Kelantan executive councillor.
Mohamad refused to comment on the sex video when approached by The Malaysian Insider. “Because it’s not an issue, I don’t want to make it an issue,” he said.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali called the sex video a political attack, but refused to point fingers at anyone. “We have been condemning this kind of dirty politics,” he said.