PETALING JAYA: An opposition MP who was accused of vaping in the Dewan Rakyat is pursuing legal action against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s photographer for allegedly slandering him.
Tanah Merah MP Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz said a notice of the action would be delivered to the photographer this Friday.
“In my summons to the photographer, I have asked him to take down a post he had made on X. It’s clear that he had made a wild accusation.
“To me, this is a crime. He accused me of vaping without checking. Vape has ‘smoke’, but this one had no smoke,” he said in a statement.
He added the CCTV footage from the Dewan Rakyat could prove that he was not vaping.
On Sept 20, a photograph of Ikmal leaving the Dewan Rakyat while holding an object to his mouth had gone viral on social media after he was accused of vaping.
Subsequently, Ikmal denied the accusation and claimed he was holding a pen. He also said the photographer had malicious intent.
He lamented that the picture had been seen by more than one million social media users and said it would tarnish his reputation.
Earlier, he submitted an explanation letter to Dewan Rakyat secretary Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin over the incident.
Ikmal said that in the letter, he vehemently denied the accusation and explained that he was holding a pen.
“I spontaneously put that pen between my lips for a while,” he said, urging Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul to verify his claim with the CCTV footage.
Ikmal said the Speaker should take stern action against him if it was true that he had vaped but similar action should also be taken against the photographer in accordance with the Standing Orders if the accusation was false.
