Sex video ends minister's career

A leading politician was forced to resign today after admitting unwittingly starring in a secretly filmed sex video which has embarrassed the Malaysian government.

The one-hour DVD recording circulated anonymously last week showed Health Minister Chua Soi Lek, a married man with three children, performing sexual acts with a woman in a hotel room.

Chua, 61, has admitted he was the man in the video and described the woman as a “personal friend”. He refused to elaborate.

The former doctor has risen fast in the government in recent years, but the scandal turned into a high-profile embarrassment for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who brought Chua into the Cabinet in 2004.

Chua said today he was resigning immediately from all his posts as health minister, member of parliament and vice president of the Malaysian Chinese Association, the second party in Abdullah’s ruling coalition.

“I am relinquishing my positions,” he said, adding that some people could not accept“ his public apology for his actions.

“Some Malaysians have a holier-than-thou attitude,” he said.

The scandal has already provided political ammunition for opposition groups, which often raise allegations of government immorality and misconduct.

“As a minister, he has committed an act that cannot be accepted by society, instead of being a leader who maintains his integrity,” said Mahfuz Omar, an official in the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.

Chua’s resignation appeared to be aimed at helping the government contain any political fallout ahead of general elections widely expected by mid-2008.

Chua said he did not make the film, suggesting it was made by his political rivals.