Malaysian Minister Sex Scandal

Ok I was going to blog about something else but something sensational happened back in Malaysia so I'll be blogging about it first...

US had the Clinton scandal, and Malaysia now has the Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek. A sex tape has been circulating recently, which was shot in a hotel room. Dr. Chua, health minister of Malaysia, has admitted to being the man in the sex video, and has promptly apologized and now resigned. The events in the video took place 2 years ago and he was having an adulterous affair with a young woman, whom he claimed to be a "personal friend". Anyway, The Star reports that the events took place in "a plush hotel, which is popular among VIPs who come to Batu Pahat", but they didn't name the place. But based on their description that can only be Hotel Katerina lah. It's the only 4 star hotel (best one around) there!

Dr. Chua was from Batu Pahat as well, which I regard as my "hometown", having spent most of my youth/life there. I remember seeing his posters hanging around near my primary school nearing election time in 1995. He was also present and gave a speech at a city-level maths competition that I participated in. He was also responsible for initiating flood mitigating drainage projects to ease the flash flood situation that frequently happened in Batu Pahat. All in all I didn't think of him very negatively. He was rather well-respected as a politician I suppose (of course, I still hear lots of negative criticism by opposition parties).

Anyway, with regard to his resignation, he said:"...I hoped Malaysians would be able to accept my apology. But unfortunately, based on the feedback that I have received, I observed that Malaysians were unable to do that. Some Malaysians can be said to be “holier than thou”. This means they are all ulama (religious teachers). So, I think if I continue to hold positions in the party or Government, this will be a burden to the Government and party, especially in the context of Islam Hadhari. And also in the context of what has been recommended by my president, which is healthy political culture."

Some people say it was politically motivated. That I have no idea, and Dr. Chua refuses to speculate. Even if it were, I don't really care coz that is really his private life. And if his wife is not complaining, why the hell should other people be? I would vote based on how efficient is he as a minister in the cabinet and as a member of parliment for his constituency. However, that is just my viewpoint. Could someone please give me some reasons why people would want him to resign? Coz I think I might be too "liberal" to understand fully. I guess it's mostly a knee-jerk reaction, based on upbringing on conservative asian values. I find stupid Malaysian MPs (for example, one who said "if a woman can't escape from her rapist she might as well enjoy it", or "women need to cover up more so they don't seduce men" etc.) more disturbing, because they don't apologize for their racist/derogatory/sexist comments, they are usually acting like male chauvinist pigs, and have terribly immature thinking.

Sure he wasn't a perfect minister, but compared to many of his peers, I felt that he was OK. Too bad for Malaysia then.