DATUK Mohammad Agus Yusoff, who abruptly resigned as director-general of the Community Communications Department (J-KOM) recently, has denied that a viral clip of him apparently engaged in a raunchy video call conversation with a subordinate was authentic.
He said the actual conversation that he had with Abdul Wahab Abdul Kadir Jilani, an assistant officer who only began his duties with the department on November 1, had been manipulated by technology.
Addressing a press conference at Hotel Tenera in Bandar Baru Bangi this evening, he said that he lodged a police report on the matter today.
“I have also instructed my lawyers to start legal proceedings, if need be, against the various culprits involved in this fiasco,” he said.
“Justice can be delayed, but it cannot be denied.
“Hopefully, with this press conference, truth will prevail at the end,” he added, stressing that the culprit behind the viral video “fiasco” needs to be identified by police.
Wahab, who was also present at the press conference, claimed that he was duped into passing the recording of the video conversation to a person he only identified as “Mr H”.
He claimed he did not know it would be manipulated and released to the public.
The video clip was reportedly first made public on the social media account of politician and activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin, popularly known as Chegubard.
It depicts Agus seemingly having a lusty conversation with another man on the other side of the call.
Wahab said that he had been approached three or four days before by “Mr H” to have the video call with Agus and record it.
He said that he was promised a higher career position and fell for it as he was new in J-KOM.
On where the original video is now, Wahab said that he had given it to “Mr H” and that he now leaves it to police to investigate the matter.
Asked what he was doing before joining J-KOM, the 33-year-old said that he was in the food business, and that he has a family with four children.
On whether he felt any remorse, he said that he feels he has done wrong to someone.
He was also asked if he was wearing clothes during the video, eliciting laughter inside the room.
Wahab replied that he was dressed, and that he was at home.
No heart to watch
Agus said that he was on holiday then. He said that he views Wahab like a son, and that as a senior, he was giving advice to him on some matters.
He also replied that he had made the call to Wahab, and that they had spoken to each other a few times before.
On the video itself, Agus said he heard some profane words and did not have the heart to watch the unsavoury clip that had been digitally manipulated.
He stressed that the clip only showed a part of their interaction when he was talking more.
Asked whether he likes men, he dismissed the insinuation about his sexual orientation.
“Is that proper for me to answer?” he replied.
He added that he did not know the call was being recorded and that it would be used to denigrate him.
“The onus is on him (Wahab) to lodge a police report,” he said.
Yesterday, Agus had confirmed submitting his resignation letter from J-KOM, claiming that he had received offers from elsewhere for his services.
He denied that it was due to pressure over his alleged poor performance.
J-KOM is a department under the Prime Minister’s Office. It was previously called the Special Affairs Department. – The Vibes, November 17, 2023
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