Probe deputy ministers role in Azalina exposé, Umno told

comments     Nash Rahman     Published     Updated

A pro-Umno website has urged the party to investigate a malaysiakini report which said a deputy minister had tipped off writer Khalid Jafri on Puteri Umno chief Azalina Othman's alleged lesbianism and corruption.

In a special editorial this week, the website — Kelab Maya Umno (KMU) — said the report reflected the irresponsible attitude of the deputy minister.

It further stated that the deputy minister should have allowed the party to determine if the allegations were true and not resort to other means.

"If an ordinary member who brings party problems to public knowledge is considered to have acted in an inappropriate manner, then how about a deputy minister who has leaked it to a political writer?" asked the website.

The malaysiakini report on May 9 quoted Khalid as saying that he received the information regarding Azalina from a deputy minister.

However, Khalid — who publishes the tabloid Perdana Sari which frontpaged the allegations — said the deputy minister who is also a high-ranking Umno official did not instruct for an investigation.

"That was done on my own accord and initiative," said the 62-year-old writer during an interview.

Apart from her alleged homosexuality, the tabloid also claimed that Azalina purchased a luxury car worth RM300,000 using party funds for her lover.

Charges denied

The Puteri Umno chief has denied both charges but Khalid said he has sufficient evidence and is willing to face her in court.

Perdana Sari later had its publishing permit suspended for three months which according to the Home Affairs Ministry was due to certain explicit photographs that appeared in its latest edition.

Khalid earned notoriety in 1998 when he penned a book which cited 50 reasons why ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim could not become the prime minister.

Shortly afterwards, Anwar was sacked and is currently serving a 15-year jail term for sodomy and corruption.

On a related matter, KMU said it has managed to trace the author of a poem which contained similar allegations against Azalina.

The poem was circulated on the Internet and published on the Umno-reform website and online news site, AgendaDaily .

According to KMU, its technical team also discovered that " the allegations first arose during an opposition forum."

"They (the tech team) traced the author's Internet protocol (IP) address to the Umno headquarters in Kuala Lumpur," the website added.

Based on these findings, KMU stressed that the Umno supreme council and the party's disciplinary committee should investigate and take the appropriate action against those behind the allegations. .



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