Malaysian police has failed to identify Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali as one of the men in the leaked gay sex videos, reported The Star.

This can be taken to mean that Azmin is effectively cleared by the Malaysian police of being involved in the scandal.

Video is real but can't link to any individual

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador said in a press release on Thursday, July 18, that it was a "political party leader" who had paid "hundreds of thousands of ringgit" to damage the reputation of a certain individual.

While not referring to Azmin by name, Abdul Hamid said the video is likely to be authentic, but facial recognition "could not link those in the video with any individual".

Azmin took to Twitter to express his joy at having his name cleared by the police.

Alhamdulillah syukur.

— Mohamed Azmin Ali • 🇲🇾 (@AzminAli) July 18, 2019

He wrote: "Praise and gratitude to God."

He has previously denied the accusations made against him.

Who's behind the gay sex videos?

Rumours have been circulating about who the true mastermind of the gay sex video clips is and what the intentions are.

Some claim Anwar Ibrahim's supporters were the ones who were responsible for the circulation of the videos, citing the growing threat that Azmin seems to be presenting to Anwar's position.

Once highly regarded by Anwar, Azmin has grown closer to Mahathir recently, Malay Mail wrote.

Anwar is the president of the People’s Justice Party, or Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), and is widely viewed as the next prime minister of Malaysia, while Azmin is the party's deputy president.

He has previously said Azmin should resign if he really is the man in the videos.

In response, Azmin told Anwar to look in the mirror and reflect on himself.

Denying claims that Azmin threatens the succession plan he has with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar has also said he has the support needed to become prime minister.

Still, there were some others who claim the scandal is part of Mahathir's scheme to get rid of both Anwar and Azmin, according to South China Morning Post.

Attitudes change over time?

Mahathir's attitude towards the gay sex scandal allegedly involving Azmin was drastically different as compared to the time when Anwar was accused of the same back in 1998.

Within days of the Anwar accusations, Mahathir claimed to have “incontrovertible proof” of Anwar’s sodomy, and therefore, his guilt.

But with Azmin, Mahathir seemed to dismiss it with uncharacteristic light-heartedness.

Getting caught with a man is worse

Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia.

And being caught in bed with a woman for a male politician might be better than getting caught doing the same with a man, political scientist James Chin of Tasmania University told SCMP.

While the former simply means the politician has committed adultery, the latter calls into question the Malay politician's Islamic credentials -- something that politicians in the region, including Indonesia, have found the increasing need to proclaim, Chin said.

Top image via Azmin Ali's Facebook