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Haziq black sheep in PKR think tank, says Azmin’s aide

Khalid said Azmin had turned down his recommendation to appoint Haziq as his intern when he was Selangor mentri besar. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
Khalid said Azmin had turned down his recommendation to appoint Haziq as his intern when he was Selangor mentri besar. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — The adviser to Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Khalid Jaafar, has claimed Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz to be the black sheep in the Malaysian Institute of Policy Research (IKD).

The IKD chairman said the so-called confession made by Haziq, who was an alumnus of the think tank founded by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, on his involvement in the sex clips allegedly featuring Azmin was the reason why many are tired of politics.

“Usually in a large, renowned and successful family, there would be a black sheep. In the IKD alumni, Haziq was the black sheep.

“I have led IKD for almost 20 years and conducted programmes to inculcate the spirit of enlightenment among youths who want to be part of politics... from two IKD initiatives, we have produced ministers, head of states, deputy ministers, state executive councillors, parliament members, and state assemblymen,” he said in a statement today.

The two initiatives involve the cooperation between IKD, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (German) and the Asian Renaissance project, as well as the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Japan).

Khalid had denied claims that Haziq, who had accused Azmin of having sex with him in several videos, had served as the intern to the former Selangor mentri besar between 2014 and 2018.

Haziq was suspended from his duties as the senior private secretary to Primary Industries Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin following the sex video incident.

Khalid said Azmin, who was then Selangor mentri besar, had turned down his recommendation to appoint Haziq as Azmin’s intern, and had instead offered Haziq to serve as an intern in the Mentri Besar’s Office.

“Haziq turned down my offer. I was informed that the rejection by Azmin had made Haziq angry and upset towards Azmin. He was seen to have crossed the political boundaries by posting photos on social media with BN [Barisan Nasional] leaders such as the Sarawak Chief Minister and other [former] Cabinet ministers such as [Datuk] Nancy Shukri.

“It was then that I realised Haziq was a young man who was a ‘glamour freak’. During GE14, he became a political weapon for BN Youth based on his experience as a student activist and from being part of the IKD school of politics network,” he said.

Yesterday, Shamsul said that Haziq had joined PKR at the age of 19, and was acquainted with the 27-year-old in 2012 when the latter founded PKR’s student wing, Mahasiswa Keadilan Universiti Malaya.

He said Haziq had interned with several PKR leaders, namely Baru Bian at his law firm; Sivarasa Rasiah, Latheefa Koya, and N. Surendran at their non-governmental organisation Lawyers for Liberty; Azmin’s office when he was then Selangor Mentri Besar; and at Senator Yusmadi Yusoff’s firm.

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