| Embattled MCA vice-president and Health Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek has today quit politics altogether by relinquishing all his party and government posts with immediate effect.
H e has also stepped down as the member of parliament for Labis. Up until his resignation today, he was also the party’s Johor state chief as well as the Batu Pahat division head.
Chua, who turned 61 today, made this shocking announcement at a press conference at his ministry office in Putrajaya, which came a day after he vowed he would not resigned in the wake of his involvement in a sex video.
He said that he has informed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and MCA president Ong Ka Ting of his decision. Chua was appointed health minister by Abdullah soon after the 2004 general elections. “I am relinquishing my position as health minister, MCA vice-president, Labis MP, Johor MCA liaison chief and Batu Pahat MCA division chief,” he said.
Chua had been entangled in a sex scandal following the mysterious distribution of a video recording of his liaison with a woman he has described as a "personal friend".
Yesterday he owned up to being the person in the video but stressed that he would continue performing his duties as a party leader and government minister. Today, flanked by his supporters from Johor, a calm Chua said that he arrived as the decision to resign because “the rakyat wants me to resign”.
He said that he was disappointed that the people have adopted a holier-than-thou attitude in the matter.
“I thought that by my admission of my involvement, the people would forgive me. But I thought wrong,” he said. “I won't be the first and I won't be the last (politician to be caught in such a situation),” Chua, a married man with three children, told the hastily convened news conference.
"It is up to the public to judge me," he added.
Chua said his family was fully supportive of his decision and admitted that the scandal was taking a toll. "I live in a very close-knit family but I am confident that my family will support me," he added.
Video recorded two years ago
The video is believed to have been taken from closed-circuit television and was recorded two years ago.
C hua met Abdullah on Monday to discuss the situation and it was decided then that he had to go public with his identity.
The resignation will hit Abdullah's government. He is expected to announce general elections this year although his administration's mandate runs until May 2009.
Sex scandals among politicians are not uncommon in Malaysia, with several members of the ruling Umno having been forced to resign in recent years.
Defiant to the last, Chua drew a line between his public and private life, refusing to comment on the incident portrayed in the tape.
"If you want to discuss my private life, please do," he told reporters at his press conference. "Maybe you would like to watch the videotape with me." |
