إستقالة وزير الصحة

Quote: after film of him having sex with a woman who was not his wife was distributed to shops and homes throughout his constituency, Richard Lloyd Parry writes. Chua Soi Lek who, as Malaysia’s Health Minister, preached the virtues of fidelity in fighting HIV/AIDS, resigned a day after admitting that he was the man featured in two DVDs containing one hundred minutes of video footage. The assignation appeared to have been secretly filmed without Dr Chua’s knowledge, using four separate cameras concealed in a hotel room. Apart from the damage to Malaysia’s Government, it has raised concerns that it will scare off tourists, concerned about security and privacy in the country’s hotels. “After I made my confession, I had hoped Malaysians would be able to accept my apology,” he told a press conference today. “Unfortunately, from the feedback I received, I observed that Malaysians cannot accept it. Some Malaysians have a holier-than-thou attitude. At the end of the day, it just tells you that honesty sometimes does not pay.” Related Links Dress to impress in condom gown A boutique hotel in Kuala Lumpur “If you want to discuss my private life, please do,” he added sarcastically. “Maybe you would like to watch the videotape with me.” Mr Chua’s honesty in identifying himself as the man on the tape, which was dropped into letter boxes in his election district in the state of Johor, had not been matched by his openness with his wife and three children. He identified the woman in the tape as “a personal friend”, and implied that it had been secretly made by political enemies. “I would like to emphasise that I did not make the tape myself,” he said at his first press conference on Tuesday. “Who made this tape is not important any more. What is most important is that my family, wife and children have accepted my apology.” Mr Chua, a medical doctor, had been health minister in Abdullah Badawi's National Front coalition since 2004 and was a senior member of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), the country’s second largest political party. At Malaysia's National AIDS Conference one month ago he said: “Abstinence is still the best way. And be faithful to your partner. It also boils down to both partners being responsible. Do not blame anybody.” As one of Malaysia’s most senior ethnic Chinese politicians he was part of the country’s often tense efforts to balance the interests of the ethnic Malay majority with the large and affluent Chinese minority. Throughout south-east Asia, local Chinese populations are the object of ill feeling and occasional violence because of their dominance of business. Malaysia has dealt with the problem by a programme of positive discrimination in favour of Malays – which in its turn has created Chinese resentment. Today websites and bulletin boards had already been posted with anti-Chinese racism, including a video juxtaposing reports of Dr Chua’s adultery with footage of mating pigs. Malaysian newspapers reported that police are investigating the circumstances in which the two black-and-white recordings, one of 56 minutes and one of 44 minutes, were made. They were said to be two years old and appear to have been made in a hotel. “How is it that someone could easily enter a hotel room and install a camera?” Norizan Sharif, the head of a Malaysian NGO said in the Malay Mail. “Of course, there is the possibility that they may have been aided by an insider but that remains to be seen. This could spark worry among hotel occupants like tourists, as installing a camera inside hotel rooms without the guests' knowledge is invading one's privacy.”