Videos killed the political stars

Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 – It all began 20 years ago when a pornographic video tape cut short the promising political career of then MIC secretary-general D.P. Vijandran’s.

The suave lawyer was party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s blue-eyed boy and also Deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker.

But a burglary in the Tapah MP’s house on Aug 8, 1988 opened a Pandora’s Box a year later when DAP strongman Karpal Singh revealed on Dec 11, 1989 that Vijandran was featured in some pornographic videos that were part of the loot.

Only one video was ever confirmed circulating in public, featuring a woman in a yellow-sari with someone who looked like Vijandran, who, amongst others, was singing a song on a sofa set.

Vijandran denied the allegations and was never charged with any offence. Police also destroyed the videos seized from four men who kept the videos. But he later resigned in disgrace.

At the end of 2007, a DVD that was said to feature Health Minister Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek was distributed in Johor, leading the MCA vice-president and Labis MP to finally own up to being the person in the sexually explicit video.

The video – shot with from hidden surveillance cameras – showed him together with a mistress in a hotel room. Chua blamed it on political rivals who wanted to destroy his political career.

The popular Johor leader later resigned from all party and government posts but technically did not resign from his parliamentary seat.

His son won the seat in Election 2008 and Chua later made a political comeback when he won the MCA deputy presidency late last year.

The results of the police investigations have never been announced.

Elizabeth Wong

Last week, e-mail messages containing nude photographs of Selangor exco and Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman Elizabeth Wong were sent to several news organisations.

The PKR Wanita publicity chief complained to the police after a journalist tipped her off.

The photographs show her asleep and partially in the nude and in intimate positions.

Wong, known to her friends as Eli, said they were being distributed to embarrass and discredit her. The New Straits Times newspaper showed one of the photographs in its online edition today.

“I am a victim in this incident,” the human rights and environmental activist said in a statement yesterday, adding she would continue her work as a serving politician.

Police are investigating the case.

But today, Wong quit in tears, adamantly declaring she was not ashamed of her sexuality as a single woman.

She is the third person whose promising political career has ended prematurely due to explicit pictures, moving or otherwise.