Loyalty has its limits, declares Azmin

SHAH ALAM: Our loyalty has its limits, Mohamed Azmin Ali said tonight while declaring his resolve not to back down in the face of the gay-sex video controversy. He also declared that he stood with Pakatan Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad in carrying out reforms and running the government.

However, he also stood by his long partnership with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, who had said earlier today that he would work with Azmin.

“He is president and I am the deputy. Don’t provoke the president and deputy president. We have been together for many decades,” Azmin said, after he had addressed about 500 supporters gathered at the Selangor menteri besar’s residence for prayers this evening.

He told reporters later that he would put the video-clip episode behind him.

Azmin told his supporters that he knew who was the mastermind behind the sex video, but would leave the matter in the hands of the authorities.

“From the start I knew this was a political game from within,” he said. “Thank God the police carried out an investigation. I myself was questioned by police with forensic experts for nearly 5 hours. I gave my full cooperation.”

In a reference to the mastermind, Azmin said: “You can plan, you have hundreds of thousands of ringgit, you have towkays backing you, but God’s plans will always supercede the plans of man to bring another man down,” and urged ordinary party members to stand up bravely in the cause of truth and justice and to reject gutter politics.

“People are sick and tired of dirty politics. They want results.”

Azmin said he had not wanted to speak about the controversy, but was heartened by this evening’s crowd. He said it was the first time he had seen “thousands here”.

He said that he had had a long meeting with Mahathir two days ago about reforms and had been advised to continue his political struggle. “He advised me, together with the Cabinet, to focus on running the country,” Azmin said.

Azmin, who is PKR deputy president, is minister for economic affairs.

He said the current controversy pitted him against people he had known, but “our loyalty has its limits”. Asked to explain later, he said his remark was not aimed at anyone but that PKR members should stick to the party’s struggles.

He said he was noted for his loyalty – “I never betray friends, but when people betray the struggle, I have no choice” – and he later thanked several PKR leaders who came to show their support, mentioning Saifuddin Abdullah, Kamaruddin Jafaar, Rashid Hasnon, R Sivarasa and Tian Chua among others.

Source: Freemalaysiatoday.com

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Keywords:

Shah Alam • Mohamed Azmin Ali • Pakatan Harapan • Mahathir Mohamad • People's Justice Party (Malaysia) • Anwar Ibrahim • Selangor • Chief Ministers in Malaysia • START I • Police • Genius • Malaysian ringgit • Dirty Politics • Politics • Cabinet (government) • People's Justice Party (Malaysia) • Economy • People's Justice Party (Malaysia) • Social group • Loyalty • Friendship • People's Justice Party (Malaysia) • Sympathy • Saifuddin Abdullah • Hasnon • Chua Tian Chang •