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Democrats Deny Sex Scandal Involving Indonesian Energy Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh Markus Junianto Sihaloho | August 20, 2010 Wild rumors about Energy Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh's alleged indiscretion have been bouncing around the Internet. (Antara Photo) Jakarta. Democratic Party officials on Friday lashed out against speculation that Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh had stepped down over an alleged sex scandal. The party's deputy secretary general, Saan Mustopha, said the rumors might have been spread by people who wanted to damage the Democrats' image. "We don't want this issue defaming us, especially during Ramadan," he said. He went on to insist that Darwin was a man of integrity. "We will try to find out what's really going on," Saan said. Online news portals have been abuzz about the rumor since Thursday. First, it was mentioned on Twitter that Darwin had an illicit affair with his personal secretary. Then, a number of Twitter posts claimed there was proof of the affair in the form of a sex video, although no one seems to have seen this alleged footage. On Thursday night, there were reports saying Darwin had resigned from the Cabinet, which were denied by the Presidential Palace. Saan and party deputy chairman Max Sopacua both said they had not heard anything about Darwin resigning. "Maybe there are certain people who want to bring down our party or Pak Darwin," Max said, adding that there is no reason for Darwin to take such a decision. According to a local online news portal, a senior Democrat official was recently reported to a West Java Police office for raping a girl in a Bandung hotel. The crime supposedly took place when the party held its national congress there a few months ago. House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie, who is also a member of the Democratic Party's Advisory Board, said these sex-scandal allegations have so far proven to be nothing but rumors. "Let the police investigate first, and only if the allegations are proven to be true, action has to be undertaken," Marzuki said. Related articles Bare Bottomed Golkar Legislator Will Get 'Warning' 11:21pm Aug 20, 2010 Indonesian Man Prostitutes Wife to Pay Political Campaign Loans 12:52pm Aug 3, 2010 New Survey Claims Indonesian Teens Have Active Sex Lives 2:59pm May 17, 2010 Most Indonesians' Sex Lives Leave Them Yawning: Survey 9:05pm Dec 8, 2009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
