My downfall began before sex tape scandal, says MCA’s Chua

(FMT) – Former MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek’s political career may have taken a downward turn following his 2008 sex scandal, but he believes fellow party leaders disliked him even before then due to his popularity as health minister at the time.

In his autobiography “Like Me or Hate Me: Rising From The Political Ashes”, he said several MCA colleagues had warned him that certain people did not like him because of this.

“This, I think, was the real cause of my downfall in 2008,” he said.

He said he believed his colleagues’ dissatisfaction began after he contested and won the vice-presidency in 2005.

“I did not consult the then-MCA president and deputy president about going for the vice-presidency,” he said, adding that Ong Ka Ting, who led the party from 2003 to 2008, had offered him the position of secretary-general.

Chua said he was not keen to accept the position due to his frank attitude and his tendency to “call a spade, a spade”.

“Malaysians are naturally courteous and often do not like to hear the truth spoken plainly. This includes Ong,” he added.

The former Labis MP also claimed that his colleagues who viewed him “with suspicion” were reporting back to Ong.

“What began as a cordial relationship was put to test. In fact, these people tried to project themselves as the face of the party despite being rejected by their voters,” he said.

On the infamous sex tape, Chua said he received a phone call from an NGO leader on Dec 28, 2007, while he was in Kota Kinabalu for a Christmas function.

He said the NGO leader had received DVDs in his mailbox which contained pornographic videos of a man and a woman.

“The NGO chief passed a DVD to my close friend in Batu Pahat, and I asked for my friend’s help to check whether the media and other NGOs had also received the same videos.

“My friend told me not only did the Chinese media have the DVDs, they were also widely distributed at coffee shops and hawker stalls.”

After watching the tape for himself, Chua said, he was ready to admit he was the man in the videos despite being warned against it.

“I met (then-prime minister) Abdullah Badawi at his office and told him I was the man in the sex tape, and that I was ready to confess.

“He was very understanding and even jokingly suggested that I convert to Islam to marry the woman (as my second wife),” he said, adding that Abdullah had advised him to go on leave.

Chua said he also relayed his intention to Ong, who commended him for being brave enough to confess.

He subsequently called a press conference at his Labis service centre and admitted on New Year’s Day that he was the man in the tape.

“However, I felt something was strange a few days later as the Chinese newspapers associated with him (Ong) were covering the issue extensively,” he added.

He said an MCA leader then told him that Ong wanted to convene an emergency disciplinary committee meeting to suspend him on moral grounds.

“He even argued with Ong because of this,” he said.

Following the scandal, Chua resigned as health minister and Labis MP and became an ordinary member in MCA.

He blamed himself for the sex tape, calling the consequences a political tsunami which ended his 22-year career in politics.