Rahim & Co: We are Datuk T

They are convinced that the man in the
21-minute long recording is Anwar but
refused to divuge details as to how
they got hold of the sex video.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malacca chief minister and Umno veteran Rahim Thamby Chik today said that Datuk T stood for “Datuk Trio” – himself, businessman Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and Perkasa’s Shuib Lazim.

He said that they were the ones who had broadcast a sex video allegedly involving Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to the media on Monday.

Rahim, a former Umno vice-president, disclosed the identity of the whistleblower Datuk T at a press conference at Impiana Hotel here.

Shuib was not present.

“We had the footage a week ago, and someone managed to produce it. But we didn’t release it then because Rahim wasn’t around,” Shahzryl told reporters.

He was also convinced that the man in the 21-minute long recording was Anwar.

Shahzryl also said that he was in the tape, although he refused to comment on his role in the recording.

“I was in the tape. I was in there. Why should I lie to you?” he said.

The sex tape was shown under a shroud of secrecy to journalists at Carcosa Seri Negara hotel on Monday.

It showed an unidentified man having sex with a female Chinese prostitute in her 30s.

Some quarters have claimed that the man was Anwar. Anwar however has denied it was him and called it a BN conspiracy.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders have vehemently denounced the recording as an Umno-laid trap.

Rahim today said the exposure of the video was not an Umno plot and that it had nothing to do with the Sarawak elections.

More than one copy
Shahzryl also told reporters that he and Anwar had been friends “to a certain degree”, and that there had been no fallout leading to the sex tape’s events.

However he added: “I felt I’ve been used for too long by this man called Anwar Ibrahim. Not like Saiful Bukhari (sodomy accuser). I’m a very straight person.”

The businessman also alluded that there may have been more than one copy of the sex recording.

“I never knew there was going to be a tape… and if I have the tape, somebody else has it too. Think about it. If I have, somebody else also has it. Somebody else has it,” Shahzryl said.

Asked why he didn’t bring this evidence straightaway to the police, Shahzryl feared that people would have called it a government conspiracy.

“Every time when police or the government are involved, there are always conspiracies and allegations that the government is involved,” he said.

Stating that he was not an Umno member, Shahzryl said that he had received an SMS request that PKR leader and Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail wanted to see the recording.

The SMS, he said, added that a mediator would be sent to see the tape, which led the businessman to decline the offer.

Shahzryl also denied that the sex tape was to blackmail Anwar.

He also seemed to be annoyed by his recently-gained notoriety, and said: “Would you convict a person who comes in with truth? Would you convict them?”

“I am trying to bring truth to the public. I am the whistleblower to bring you the truth, and you are slaughtering me!”

He refused to divulge on how he got hold of the video tape, adding that he would reveal that information to the police. He also stressed that it was Anwar in the sex tape.

Johari’s role

Commenting on Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul’s viewing of the video at Hotel Flamingo, Rahim said that the PKR MP had confirmed Anwar’s identity at the time.

“He said in front of us three, ‘Hey, that’s right. This is the leader of Pakatan Rakyat’,” Rahim said.

However, he alleged that Johari later called to ask for RM100,000 as ‘wang pelincir’ (lubricant money).

The PKR MP was also claimed to have wanted to bring seven party comrades to meet with Rahim, asking for RM1 million for every MP that he brought to crossover.

Rahim said he refused Johari’s request.

“We were not interested in (dealing with) money. We just wanted to uphold the truth,” he said.

This telling of events was different to Johari’s who earlier alleged that Rahim attempted to entice the Sungai Petani MP to get other PKR parliamentarians to leave the party.

Not revenge for 1994
Rahim also revealed that he had been asked by Anwar to step down as Malacca Chief Minister in 1994. This was after Rahim had been declared innocent in his alleged statutory rape of a minor.

(At the time, Anwar was the Deputy Prime Minister.)

“Back then, the courts and the Attorney-General found me not guilty, but Anwar told me to stop as CM, as I had become a liability,” he said.

However, he claimed that the-then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad later told him that he had never intended for Rahim to step down.

Asked if the release of the video was a form of revenge against Anwar, Rahim disagreed.

“Not at all. This was simply a coincidence,” he said.

Rahim also told the media that only the police would be given the details on how the trio came by the video.

He added that the government must form a Royal Commission of Inquiry to determine the video’s authenticity.

Rahim said that the inquiry’s panel need to consist of opposition party leaders. Rahim also named Perkasa, 

Zaid Ibrahim, foreign representatives and even members of the media to sit on this proposed panel.

“This is a big issue that affects someone who may become the top politician in the country, who may become the next Prime Minister,” Rahim said.

“The longer this issue is dragged out, the worse it will become,” he said during the packed press conference.

Perkasa: We are not involved

In another development, Perkasa distanced itself from this sex video matter and insisted that Shuib was acting in his personal capacity.

Perkasa secretary-general, Syed Hassan Syed Ali, told FMT that he had already spoken to Shuib who had confirmed that he was not representing Perkasa on this matter.

“Perkasa has absolutely nothing to do with the release of this clip,” he said. “We’re very shocked that we have been dragged into it and we will be clearing our name at a press conference tomorrow.”

When asked if Shuib would be attending the conference, Syed Hassan said, “No because he is currently up north.”

He said that while Shuib was still Perkasa’s treasurer, he had not been discharging his duties in the past few months due to ill health.

“In fact, he wanted to resign three months after being appointed last March because of poor health, but agreed to stay on as we couldn’t find a suitable replacement. But he stopped attending our meetings shortly after. So his only link to Perkasa is the role that he still holds.”

Perkasa will also be calling for the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry to investigate this issue.