KUALA LUMPUR - A TEARFUL opposition politician Elizabeth Wong, whose nude photographs were being circulated, has quit all her positions, paving the way for a third by-election within the next two months.
Past sex scandals
# D.P. Vijandran: In 1989, the then-Deputy Speaker of Malaysia's Parliament resigned amid claims that he was in several home-made sex videos. In 1994, he was convicted on a perjury charge relating to the tapes, and was jailed and fined.
He lost his appeal in the High Court, but the Court of Appeal ruled in his favour in 1998. His political career did not recover.
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Her decision, announced at the PKR headquarters here on Tuesday morning, came after PKR leaders met Monday night to discuss the scandal.
In a packed press conference, she told reporters she was resigning as the Bukit Lanjan state assemblyman and executive councillor for the Selangor state. She is a first-term assemblyman.
'I have done no wrong and I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and as a single person. I have broken no law and everyone has a right to privacy," she said, breaking down in tears.
She refused to take any questions at the media conference.
Nude photographs of Ms Wong, 37, have been circulated in the last week. She did not say who took the photos but news reports have speculated that a former boyfriend could have done so.
The photographs reportedly show her sleeping with her clothes rumpled, and half covered by a sarong.
The Selangor state government headed by chief minister Khalid Ibrahim has yet to indicate if it will accept her resignation. It must also be tendered to the Sultan of Selangor.
If accepted, Malaysia will see its fifth by-election in a year.
Ms Wong has called the circulation of photos a malicious attack on her personality, a gross outrage of her modesty and a gross invasion of her privacy.
She lodged a police report Sunday night.
Police warned that action would be taken against anyone found distributing the pictures.
The distribution of her photographs has incensed women's groups and leaders from both sides of the political divide, The Star reported on Tuesday..
MCA Wanita chief Datin Chew Mei Fun condemned the person or persons responsible, saying: 'We are outraged by such shameful acts of using women as sexual objects. It is an outright invasion of the privacy of women as well as an exploitation of women for political use.'
The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) expressed shock over the unauthorised circulation of the pictures, saying that Ms Wong was being victimised as a single woman, in a tactic meant to deliberately cast moral aspersions and indirectly question her ability to carry out her duties as a politician.
Past sex scandals
# D.P. Vijandran: In 1989, the then-Deputy Speaker of Malaysia's Parliament resigned amid claims that he was in several home-made sex videos. In 1994, he was convicted on a perjury charge relating to the tapes, and was jailed and fined.
He lost his appeal in the High Court, but the Court of Appeal ruled in his favour in 1998. His political career did not recover.
... more
Her decision, announced at the PKR headquarters here on Tuesday morning, came after PKR leaders met Monday night to discuss the scandal.
In a packed press conference, she told reporters she was resigning as the Bukit Lanjan state assemblyman and executive councillor for the Selangor state. She is a first-term assemblyman.
'I have done no wrong and I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and as a single person. I have broken no law and everyone has a right to privacy," she said, breaking down in tears.
She refused to take any questions at the media conference.
Nude photographs of Ms Wong, 37, have been circulated in the last week. She did not say who took the photos but news reports have speculated that a former boyfriend could have done so.
The photographs reportedly show her sleeping with her clothes rumpled, and half covered by a sarong.
The Selangor state government headed by chief minister Khalid Ibrahim has yet to indicate if it will accept her resignation. It must also be tendered to the Sultan of Selangor.
If accepted, Malaysia will see its fifth by-election in a year.
Ms Wong has called the circulation of photos a malicious attack on her personality, a gross outrage of her modesty and a gross invasion of her privacy.
She lodged a police report Sunday night.
Police warned that action would be taken against anyone found distributing the pictures.
The distribution of her photographs has incensed women's groups and leaders from both sides of the political divide, The Star reported on Tuesday..
MCA Wanita chief Datin Chew Mei Fun condemned the person or persons responsible, saying: 'We are outraged by such shameful acts of using women as sexual objects. It is an outright invasion of the privacy of women as well as an exploitation of women for political use.'
The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) expressed shock over the unauthorised circulation of the pictures, saying that Ms Wong was being victimised as a single woman, in a tactic meant to deliberately cast moral aspersions and indirectly question her ability to carry out her duties as a politician.
He bravely faced it and need not have to quit politics or parliament post.
