Malaysians must, and should, be thankful to our Health Minister, Dr Chua Soi Lek, who helped the people move on to the year 2008 with a bang. In 2007,Malaysians were apprehensive of the coming year what with the oil prices, tolls, expensive goods and services, elections, rallies, ISA, the economy, religious tolerance, and so forth. In walks the Health Minister with 2 DVDs giving the people respite from their daily worries. I dare say the problems are not going to go away, but the least the sex scandal has temporarily made the people divert their attention.
Sowing wild oats is one thing, but, surely a Minister should know the right place, in this case a hotel, where he orchestrated his ability and sex duress at the age of sixty. I read there were CCTVs everywhere, in the bedroom and bathroom. When I check into a hotel, the first thing I do is to look around, not necessarily for CCTVs, unless I want to be naughty, but at least at the facilities provided. But, a man with caliber, and a Minister to boot, would he not have the cow sense not to fall into a trap? Or was he blinded by love and allured by a damsel half his age? Much as I would want to give him credit I still wonder how he fell for the trap, especially now that the MCA Labis chief Tan Kok Hong claims our paramour was stabbed in the back, while our hero was busy with a frontal attack. This espionage theory must stop and it would be fatal if the Police continue their investigations and more dirt comes out. As it is the story is straight forward, a man with his pants around his feet and engaging in an adulteress relationship. What dirt am I talking about? Something like what Elizabethwong envisaged in her blog “Anugerah Skrin Politik.”
On the day news broke in the Malay and English media (snail’s-pace, compared to the Chinese media) about a Minister and his videotaped extra-curricula activities, it was reported that Malaysia’s fat bottom was resting too comfortably among the sediments of an international privacy rating.
Hardly anyone appeared interested in the latter, since most are caught up with the excitement, baying for the Minister’s blood. But is it anyone’s business what one does and who one does it with in the bedroom?
Here’s a checklist to evaluate the so-called scandal:-
1. Was the act non-consensual?
2. Was it under duress e.g. pressure and threats to keep one’s job, or to secure one’s livelihood or security?
3. Was it a form of inducement e.g. in an employer-employee relationship which would result in benefits and advantages; or for political favours like good seat allocation, contracts, commissions etc.?
4. Did the Minister used his job privileges e.g. to get a free or discounted hotel room, used ministerial facilities e.g. official car, or dug deep into the public coffers to pay for that hotel suite?
If the answers to the above are “Nays”, then it’s none of our blooming business.
The only *real* crime that had been committed was by those who put up those cameras in that room and then distributed the tapes.
So, no – I’m not going to be used by that MCA faction to condemn this man.
For the last time – No, I don’t have a copy of the DVD and no, I’m not going to get you a copy.
This scandal is reported by BBC and with tongue in cheek, end the story with “As health minister, Mr Chua has advocated giving out free condoms to reduce the spread of HIV, in the face of religious opposition.” Good God why has the Health Minister not claimed he was in the nature of duty testing the free prophylactic to certify the quality.
John Profumo, Secretary of State of war, in the British Parliament, had a libido problem and this led to the famous “Profumo Scandal” of the sixties. He resigned and indirectly brought down the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan. But that was in England.
I fear this Malaysian scandal may escalate the feelings of the people towards MCA and its canditates in the coming elections, and with MIC in the doldrums, it is crystal clear UMNO will have a tough time. Many Ministers in Malaysia get away with blue murder, and continue to hoodwink the populace they are clean rather than being labeled as scums of the gutters. Can we have a late start, at least, with this scandal, to proudly show the country and the world, the Government does not brook nonsense.
