Tanah Merah MP lodges police report against PM's photographer

An aide to Tanah Merah MP Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz has lodged a police report against one of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's official photographers.

Ikmal, in a statement today, said the report was lodged against Sadiq Asyraf who shot and later posted on X, previously known as Twitter, an image allegedly showing him vaping while in the Dewan Rakyat.

"Sharing of the image with the caption is a slander with ill intentions to tarnish my image, credibility and reputation," said the Perikatan Nasional lawmaker.

Ikmal reiterated his previous explanation that the ‘vaping device’ seen in the image was a pen that he momentarily lifted to his lips.

"For that reason, I instructed my officer to lodge a police report and allow authorities to investigate, followed by necessary actions over publication of the image," he said.

The report was lodged at Dang Wangi district police station this afternoon.

Ikmal said he would also explain to Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul the alleged incident, while at the same time urging for a review of CCTV footage of the area.

Further, Ikmal requested for Johari to instruct Sadiq to hand over all other images taken of him at that moment on Sept 19 when PN MPs staged a walkout of the Dewan Rakyat during Anwar’s winding-up speech on the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term review debates.

"I'm confident and I believe he (Sadiq) had shot several photographs of me while I was walking out but purposely only showed an angle to make it appear as if I was vaping," Ikmal said.

This is not the first time a federal lawmaker has courted trouble over vape devices.

In 2020, Umno MP Hishammuddin Hussein was slapped with a fine for vaping in the Dewan Rakyat.

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