Top MCA leader was behind the controversy

The downfall of Dr Chua Chua Soi Lek in the wake of a sex scandal is a “political plot” and top MCA leader was behind the controversy! Read this interesting story by Malaysiakini.

MCA Youth No 2 Ling Hee Leong has questioned party president Ong Ka Ting’s view that the downfall of Vice-president Dr Chua Soi Lek was not due to a political plot, as alleged.

"If lightning strikes, certainly it is from the sky. If this is not a political plot, then tell me what it is?” was the outspoken Hee Leong’s response when contacted to comment on Ka Ting’s statement.

Hee Leong is the son of long-serving former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik, who had handpicked Ka Ting as successor in 2003.

Ka Ting, in rejecting Hee Leong’s call for an internal investigation into those behind recording and revealing sex scandal, had yesterday asked for any concrete proof to be submitted to the police.

He said that he too was “curious” to know whether any top MCA leader was behind the controversy, but that the probe should be left to the police.

The younger Ling had earlier attributed Chua’s downfall in the wake of a sex scandal to a “political plot”.

His open war of words with Ka Ting signals an escalation of tension by a faction - the majority of who are Liong Sik loyalists - who were already unhappy with the president’s handling of issues. A factional fight appears to be looming within the party.

Chua, who was health minister and is married with three children, resigned abruptly last week after a DVD of him having sex with a female “personal friend” was widely distributed in his political base of Johor.

The footage was apparently recorded with four hidden cameras in a hotel room in Batu Pahat.

The 61-year-old politician - known to be a staunch supporter of Liong Sik during the latter’s 17-year presidency - also quit as party vice-president, as Johor chief and Labis MP. The seat had been passed on to him by Liong Sik.


The controversy has triggered speculation that this could have been the work of party insiders seeking to kill Chua’s political career.

He was said to be eyeing the top two posts in the next party election and was set to pose a strong challenge to Ka Ting or his deputy Chan Kong Choy, if he chose to challenge them.

Members who wanted to see Chua to take on Ka Ting in the presidential race apparently were also unhappy with how the president is seen to be laying the ground for his elder brother and MCA secretary-general Ka Chuan to take over the party.

For instance, observers see Ka Ting’s appointment as acting health minister to replace Chua as paving the way for Ka Chuan to assume the post after the next general election.

Hee Leong, in making the call on Monday for internal investigation into the sex scandal, had said in sarcasm: “We must get to the bottom of this because this is not the president’s or secretary-general’s party. I was born and brought up in this party too”.

But the tension may have been slightly defused with an announcement yesterday to appoint Chua’s ally as the MCA Johor chief - a post which Ka Ting was said to have been eyeing for a long time.

The post is deemed an influential one in party politics as the biggest number of elected representatives are from the state. It is also one of the states with the largest number of central delegates to the party.

MCA controls 23 parliamentary and state seats in Johor. A popular saying in the party is that ‘the man who rules Johor (MCA) is the man who rules MCA’.

The press helped to kill Malaysian “Hell” Minister

Former health minister Chua Soi Lek today accused his "political enemies" of orchestrating the release of a video showing him having sex with an unidentified woman in a hotel room.

"The press helped to kill me, to be honest," Chua, who is married with three children, told an impromptu press conference after clearing out his office.

The scandal engulfing Chua, 61, who resigned yesterday, is the latest in a series of problems facing Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government ahead of elections which he is expected to call this year.

Chua -- the most senior minister to leave the government so far -- said the media's role in highlighting his work had led certain groups to target him, but he did not name any specific organisations, state news agency Bernama reported.

Chua was also vice-president of MCA, a key part of Abdullah's coalition government, before the scandal over the widely circulated tape sparked his resignation.

"The press will always say Dr Chua is one who may be mounting a challenge against the (MCA) deputy president, against the (MCA) president," he told Bernama.

"Who my enemies are, I really don't know."

Chua admitted on Tuesday that he was in the video, which has been splashed on the front pages of newspapers since the DVD started circulating in his home state of Johor last week.

Attempting to control the fallout from the scandal, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak downplayed the impact of Chua's resignation.

"I do not think that the matter will provide political mileage (for the opposition)," he said.

"It is not easy for a leader to arrive at such a decision," he was quoted as saying by Bernama, praising Chua for placing the interests of the party and government above his own by resigning.

Sex scandals among politicians are not uncommon in Malaysia, with several members of the ruling Umno having been forced to resign in recent years.

Honesty does not pay, Chua Quits All Posts

Embattled MCA vice-president and Health Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek has quit politics altogether by relinquishing all his party and government posts with immediate effect.

He 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.

He expressed disappointment that the public has adopted a holier-than-thou attitude on the issue and noted sarcastically that "maknanya semuanya golongan ulamak" (it must mean they are all very pious).

“I thought that by my admission, the people would forgive my weaknesses, but I thought wrong. This shows that honesty does not always pay, (but) it is up to the public to judge me,” he said.

“My mistake was to go to the same hotel and the same room all the time. I thought it was convenient,” he lamented.

Saying that his resignation would stop people from “following me everywhere (and) placing hidden cameras to capture my every movement”, he described this as a “very sick and unhealthy political culture”.

“The prime minister has personally told me that he would investigate who is behind the video, so let’s leave the matter at that.”

Chua had previously hinted at the possibility of a political motive on the part of the person who recorded the footage, said to have been recorded with cameras placed at four spots in a hotel room. Two videos were produced from the footage.

Malaysia PM defends keris at Umno assembly

November 7, 2007 - Opening the annual Umno meet at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur this morning, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, the act of unsheathing and kissing a keris is part of our cultural heritage but its meaning has been twisted to spread fear among non-Malays, and the image of Umno and Malaysia has been smeared overseas."

"Keris is a weapon, but it is a weapon to protect yourself and your friends," he said to a round of thunderous applause from more than 2,500 delegates who turned up this morning.

It was the first time that Abdullah, who has portrayed himself as a moderate Islamic leader, to strongly defend the party since it came under intense fire from various groups including those from the non-Malay-based BN component parties.

At last year's meeting, several delegates had also during the party debates - which was broadcasted live on a satellite television channel for the first time - vowed Umno members were ready to drown themselves in blood to defend their race.

Despite calls for actions against them, they were however let off with a warning by the Umno management committee, which is made up of the party's top leaders.

"Those who would wish to inflame communal sentiments have sensationalized the words of the four Umno speakers," lamented Abdullah, in reference to the speeches made at last year Umno's meet which were deemed as 'seditious' by critics.

The brandishing of the keris, a traditional Malay dagger, which has since been a regular feature at the party's youth wing was deemed as provocative to the non-Malay communities.

“On behalf of Umno’s leaders and members, I give assurance that Umno will never breach the spirit of the understanding that has been agreed with the other communities at the time of Merdeka,” added Abdullah in his 90-minute speech.

“Opportunities in Malaysia are available to all. There is a future for every Malaysian in this country,” he said to a loud cheer from his audience.

At the same time, he said, the other communities must also appreciate the sensitivities of the Malays.

“Basic matters relating to the sanctity of religion, beliefs and practices, Malay interests and the social contract between the communities are sacred to us and should not be raised,” he added.

He also said that Umno was willing to discuss on the sensitive matters in an "effective and appropriate manner".

“We are ready to seek intelligent resolutions and win-win outcomes when dealing with sensitive issues relating to race and religion.

Zam Attacked Mahathir ?

Zam attacked Mahathir? Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin attacked theSun for a second time today (Sept 3, 2007), he also attacked internet bloggers and newspapers which treat bloggers as a source of information.

"I don't understand why some newspapers want to project some of these websites as being crucial and claim that they are read by six million people.”

"Who are these six million? Foreigners? Are they read by people who determine the political power in this country?" he asked.

The attacked seems to be directed toward Malaysia's former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

On the other hand, Malaysia's former premier Mahathir Mohamad April 19, 2007 emerged as an unlikely champion for the country's bloggers, arguing they provide a valuable source of news. Mahathir, who in recent months has complained he was being censored by mainstream media, said people were turning to blogs and online news journals because of Malaysia’s tightly controlled media.”There is no doubt that bloggers have provided us with an alternative source of news. By and large, they have been responsible,” Mahathir said after speaking at a conference on the media and national development.

"At the moment, with the atmosphere prevailing in the country, many people are turning to the bloggers for news," he said.

Recently (15 August 2007), Mahathir said bloggers are the only hope left to express the views about all the problems in Malaysia now. Read the story reported by Malaysiakini.

As Umno musters its forces against the emergence of bloggers, the party’s former president Dr Mahathir Mohamad is urging online dissidents to keep up the pressure on the government.

At a special meeting with bloggers today, Mahathir described bloggers as the “only hope” left to speak out on problems in the country.

“Umno has become completely paralysed. It cannot do anything (to correct itself). The only hope left is with the bloggers,” said Mahathir during a two-and-a-half hour speech to some 100 bloggers at the Perdana Leadership Foundation headquarters in Putrajaya.

Mahathir was speaking on the perceived intolerance of Umno’s leadership towards criticism on allegations of corruption, cronyism and nepotism.

He has been over the past two years attacking number of party leaders, in particular his handpicked successor, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his powerful son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, who is Umno Youth deputy chief.

Up until now, Mahathir had only been expressing tacit support for online dissidents, although he had once dubbed malaysiakini as “traitors to the country” when he was in power.

The Nation's Success Is The Combined Efforts

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, we should be thankful to our forward-thinking leaders like the two earliest prime ministers, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak. They were given full support by the then party leaders, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V. T. Sambanthan.

The spirit of unity and the sacrifices made by the founding fathers should be a guiding light to Malaysians particularly the younger generation. Malaysia's independence was the result of the sacrifices and struggles made by the rakyat who were united in one spirit.

"The success of our country is built upon our combined efforts. This approach must be practised in overcoming issues that may bring about hardship, confusion and tension among the people," he said.

Zam Accuses theSun Supports DAP

Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said theSun should be viewed as a newspaper that supports the DAP because it fought for a "Malaysian Malaysia", which is the DAP's objective.

He said theSun often blew up issues that contradict the federal constitution besides "publishing statements that oppose and question the government's action to suspend the Makal Osai newspaper recently."
On the contrary, in many issues, "the Chinese and Malay newspapers are fairer to Malaysia than certain English newspapers.
"The Chinese newspapers, which are written and read by the Chinese, do not involve the feelings of the other races but the English language newspapers must be more careful because they are read by all the people.”
Zainuddin said Gerakan adviser Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik's assumption that the Malay and Chinese newspapers favour certain parties and are not fair to all the races was inaccurate.

He told a news conference after attending an "Anak-anak Merdeka dan Malaysia" gathering in Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur on Aug 28, 2007. The news was reported by all the major Malaysian newspapers.

Endanger Public Order - Makkal Osai suspended

The government today (Aug 24, 2007) slapped a one-month suspension on Tamil daily Makkal Osai after published an image of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette and a beer can four days ago. The order effective immediately and will end on Sept 24,2007.

The two-year-old daily, Makkal Osai is closely aligned to former MIC deputy president S. Subramaniam, who is known to be MIC president Samy Vellu's arch rival, has a staff strength of about 100, was informed of the order via a faxed letter from the Internal Security Ministry at about 5pm.

The Internal Security Ministry officials said the suspension was punishment for the daily's publication of an image of Jesus Christ which was deemed inappropriate and could endanger public order. The suspension was reported by all the Malaysian newspapers.

Not all bloggers are stupid, says Zam

All blogger are "goblok ?"

By the way, Information Minister says not all bloggers are "goblok", this is reported by The Star Monday August 6 2007. Read this story.

KUALA LUMPUR: Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin says not all bloggers are stupid as some of them are informative, knowledgeable and disseminate positive views on current issues.
The ones that were mostly goblok (stupid, in Indonesian) were political bloggers who float rumours and create hatred among the people, he said yesterday.
He said political bloggers “blatantly abused the freedom of the Internet.”
“Readers of these blogs read them to pass time and for fun, akin to reading a ghost story. The people must be able to distinguish between goblok bloggers and bloggers,” he added. – Bernama

54% Chinese Support BN

The recent polls done by Merdeka Centre on the trend of urban voters through phone interviews involving 1022 respondents throughout Peninsular Malaysia, is highlighted by Malaysiakini on August 4, 2007.

Abdullah's rating remains high, with 86% of Malay, 71% Indian while 54% Chinese supporting the administration. The low Chinese support is due to the failure of Abdullah to fullfill most of his election promises, less confident with the government's ability in fulfilling the people's aspirations and the sluggish Malaysian economy can be addressed by having more opposition leaders in Parliament.
The accuratecy of this poll is yet to be proven as with a relatively small sample size of 1022 respondents, which includes those between 16 and 21 years which is not the voter.
According the poll, 54% of urban Chinese will vote opposition, so it means opposition can win when the Chinese voters are more than 60%. During last general election, only 12 Chinese majority seats with more than 70% Chinese voters and opposition won 10, except Bukit Bendera and Petaling Jaya Utara won by Gerakan and MCA respectively, so the result of the polls is by far not much different from last election results.

Malaysia not a Secular or Theocratic state

Prime Minister Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, "We are not a secular state. We are also not a theocratic state like Iran and Pakistan which PAS wants us to be, but we are a government that is based on parliamentary democracy."

Read this Bernama's story, "Malaysia not a Secular or Theocratic State."

04 Ogos, 2007 BUKIT MERTAJAM (Bernama)-Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hari ini menegaskan bahawa Malaysia bukan sebuah negara sekular mahupun teokrasi sebaliknya sebuah negara yang mengamalkan demokrasi berparlimen. Beliau berkata kerajaan di negara ini mengamalkan ciri-ciri pemerintahan yang melambangkan komposisi penduduknya yang berbilang kaum dan agama."Kita bukan negara sekular. Kita juga bukan negara teokrasi seperti Iran dan Pakistan yang Pas mahukan tetapi kita sebuah kerajaan berasaskan demokrasi berparlimen," katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan program bersama rakyat di Institut Perguruan Tuanku Bainun di sini. Beliau berkata kerajaan yang ada di negara ini sekarang merupakan sebuah kerajaan yang bertanggung jawab sama ada kepada rakyat mahupun negara dan ia diperintah bersama oleh pemimpin daripada semua kaum dan agama di bawah payung Barisan Nasional."Kita terdiri daripada agama Islam, Buddha, Hindu, Kristian dan semua sama-sama bermuafakat, berbincang untuk menghasilkan dasar-dasar pembangunan negara," katanya. Perdana Menteri berkata formula yang diguna pakai itu telah terbukti mampu memacu kemajuan negara dalam tempoh 50 tahun lalu."Itulah negara kita yang maju dalam bentuk formula kita sendiri yang telahpun diuji dan teruji 50 tahun lamanya dan telahpun berjaya hari ini," katanya. Abdullah berkata beliau tidak nampak mengapa kerajaan seperti ini tidak dapat terus maju pada masa akan datang iaitu sehingga Malaysia meraikan ulang tahun kemerdekaannya yang ke-100 tahun kelak.

Watch your blogs, warns PM

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was quoted by the Sunday Star as warning bloggers are as liable for defamation as publishers of printed materials.

"It is wrong for bloggers to go overboard, especially if they post slanderous articles against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Islam on the website. This is not something one can take lightly," he told reporters at Kuantan yesterday.