KUCHING (Sarawak) — Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz – the man at the centre of a viral sex video scandal implicating Malaysian economic affairs minister Azmin Ali – has cut himself off from his family, his father said.

Mr Abdul Aziz Ibrahim told The Malaysian Insight in a telephone interview that no member in his large family in Kuching has managed to contact Haziq since June 11, the day before the videos went viral on WhatsApp.

The turmoil, anger and lingering questions surrounding the incident have also made Haziq’s mother sick, he said.

“We have not been in contact with our son ever since. We do not even know his whereabouts.

“What news we get are all from the (various) media,” the 53-year-old said, adding that Haziq has not told the family anything.

Mr Aziz said all they can do now is hope to hear from their son soon.

Haziq was sacked last week as the principal private secretary to deputy primary industries minister Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin for his sordid admission that he was the person featured in the sex video with Mr Azmin, who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president.

Shortly after the sex clips surfaced, Haziq confessed on social media where he also urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate Mr Azmin, whom Haziq claimed was an unfit leader.

Mr Azmin has vigorously denied this allegation and lodged a police report against Haziq.

Undeterred, Haziq, who is also PKR Santubong youth chief, went a step further on Saturday and dared Mr Azmin to take legal action against him.

However, Mr Azmin’s lawyer N. Surendran said the minister would not respond to such “taunts”.

“We do not act or respond according to such attention-seeking taunts. All legal responses are done as we see fit, according to our timetable and not imposed by others,” Mr Surendran responded on Twitter.

The last Mr Aziz heard from Haziq was on June 11 when he called his father to inform him that he would be travelling with Mr Shamsul to Paris on a work-related trip.

However, there has since been no word about his whereabouts, said Mr Aziz.

When asked if Haziq cut himself from his family because he was embarrassed to face them, Mr Aziz said he has no idea.

“I have the same questions as you. (I won’t know) because we are not in contact with him.”

Mr Aziz, who still refuses to give lengthy interviews, is also lying low with the rest of his family at his father’s house in a Malay village in another part of the city to avoid publicity and the embarrassment.

The family have temporarily moved out of the family home in Petra Jaya to avoid prying neighbours.

“I am not ready. My wife is not well enough,” he said.

Haziq, who was arrested at KLIA on June 14 as he was about to board a flight to Manila, has since been released on police bail.

In an interview with The Malaysian Insight recently, Haziq said he was not trying to flee to the Philippines but wanted a short break because he was “too stressed”.

He also claimed he was not paid to confess the affair with Mr Azmin. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT