Najib: Focus on sex video’s authenticity, not Umno’s role

Najib stresses the importance of verifying the auhtenticity of the sex video. - file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak moved last night to distance Umno from the video allegedly showing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim having sex with a Chinese prostitute, insisting that the main issue was whether the video was genuine or not.

The prime minister stressed that the police should be allowed to do a rapid and professional job to verify whether the video was doctored or not.

“People have been asking whether Umno is at fault but the main issue is whether the tape is true or false,” the Umno president told reporters after chairing a supreme council meeting.

“Raising the idea of a conspiracy is shifting the focus from the main issue of whether the recording was genuine,” he added.

Former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik had admitted on Wednesday that Datuk Shazryl Eskay, Perkasa treasurer-general Datuk Shuib Lazim and himself were collectively the mysterious “Datuk T” behind the 21-minute sex video that was screened on Monday.

The involvement of the former Youth chief Abdul Rahim has led to accusations that Umno had doctored the video to undermine Anwar’s credibility.

PKR has also accused the prime minister of meeting the sex video trio on Wednesday in Parliament.

Najib also said that calls for a royal commission of inquiry into the video would have to be decided on by the government and not Umno.

“We only discussed the issue to stress that we are not involved in any way in any recording of this video,” he said.

He said that for now, it was up to the police to act in a professional manner so that the public would have confidence in the investigation.

“The police will have to show if there has been any doctoring of the video. Such doctoring will be easy enough to detect and determine,” he said.

Police today arrested Abdul Rahim and Shazryl in relation to the video while Shuib had his statement recorded in Bukit Aman last night.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar promised yesterday to leave no stone unturned in the probe of the sex video and said that the police had formed a “special team” and will bring in and question anyone necessary.