M. Bakri Musa
Between the salacious reporting on and the holier-than-thou responses to
the sexual escapade of former Health Minister Chua Soi Lek, three
important points are overlooked. In a country where an intrusive
government could as a law enforcement exercise barge into people's
bedrooms (consider the many khalwat raids), these points bear pondering.
One, what if she had not been a "personal friend" (presumably
Chua also has "non-personal friends") but a foreign intelligence agent,
and he, somebody important like a Minister of Defense? Rest assured then
that she would be very smooth and sophisticated; she would not let herself
be blown to pieces or let the tape be released. It would be more valuable
kept secret than exposed.
Two, what if my wife and I had stayed in that same room a few
days immediately before, when those "technicians" were having their
"practice" runs, or a few days later, when their voyeuristic lust is not
yet fully satisfied? Those peeping toms could not blackmail us of
course, but we would have felt violated nonetheless. The hotel would be
liable, legally and morally, for the damages suffered by us just as
surely as if the management had handed to known thugs duplicate keys to
our room.
Last is the sense of perspective. In this escapade two people
had great fun, with one subsequently paying dearly with his career. No
one was killed, or potentially killed, assuming they engaged in "safe
sex." Yet the police expended considerable resources on the case.
Meanwhile the recent brutal sex slaying of young Nurin Jazlin remains
unsolved and forgotten.
An Old Reliable Tool
The use of pretty girls (and boys too!) to bring down the powerful is
nothing new or particularly ingenious. Only the scene, theme actors (and
actresses) vary. When such acts are exposed, the end results are equally
predictable. Not always, however, much depends on the prevailing norms
and the personalities.
The American Central Intelligence Agency had secret tapes of
Sukarno cavorting with pretty blonds (yes, more than one at a time!)
secretly taped presumably on one of his many trips to Washington, DC. In
the 1960s when he was lurching far to the left, the CIA discretely let
loose those tapes in the cinema halls of Jakarta.
The hope was that those pious Indonesians would be so repulsed
as to start a revolution to topple him. Imagine the horror of the embassy
folks when the crowd instead cheered their local stud. As one wag put it,
"At least one of us got to screw them back, they have been doing it to us
for centuries!"
President Kennedy's fondness for pretty dames was well known
and equally well tolerated if not catered to. Only when he strayed too
far and shared his toys with the Mafia bosses were there dismays in the
intelligence community.
To me the greatest threat to national security is not those
sexual scandals that were exposed rather those that are still secret.
They would then be a much more formidable weapon.
When Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman signed that defense
treaty with Britain following Malaysia's independence, was that his
considered choice or one that was imposed upon him? As it turned out it
was a fortuitous decision. It spared the nation from spending heavily on
the military and instead used the funds on education.
It would however, been easy for Britain to impose that defense
treaty. During his student days there, the Tunku acquired a widely
acknowledged taste for fine scotch. Presumably he also acquired the
taste for some other fine "things" the British had to offer.
Thus whether the Tunku's avowedly pro Western stance was the
result of his personal conviction or otherwise, we will never know.
A friend of mine was a fast rising political star in a
neighboring country. On a visit to France, he suddenly discovered the
exquisite taste for French wine and other equally "fine" offerings of
Paris. His country's leader quickly became aware of the potential danger
and brusquely put an end to the young man's political career.
The mark of a wise leader is how well he or she recognizes and
thus avoids such a trap. In not demanding Chua's immediate resignation,
the Prime Minister failed to grasp the threat to the nation of Chua's
extracurricular adventures.
Lee Kuan Yew in his memoir wrote contemptuously of the many
joget parties hosted by the Tunku where apparently hookers were readily
available. I do not know whether Lee's indignation arose out of his
moral conviction or the fear that he and his boys could be put in
potentially compromising situations. Anyway, he was wise to be wary.
Leaders like Sukarno and Kennedy were apparently immune to
sexual scandals because everyone knew their weaknesses. When you see a
gun enthusiast openly carrying a rifle, you know he is going to the
shooting range for some target practice, and nobody would blink an eye.
When you see a seemingly straitlaced guy like an Imam carrying a weapon,
everyone's eyebrows would be raised. You know he would be up to no good,
perhaps looking to shoot some wild fowls, or worse, a chicken in a
farmer's barn.
Incendiary Racial Component
This being Malaysia, the racial element is never far. Already there are
ugly racial stereotype comments and videos posted in blogs and on
Youtube. Those would have been pardonable if they were funny; but they
were not even that; they were simply crude.
Speculations were that Chua was set up by his many rivals
within his party jealous or fearful of his trajectory rise. I wish for
the sake of Malaysia that that were true. If this seems a perversion,
consider the alternative, that is, this is the scheming of others within
the Barisan coalition, specifically UMNO, fearful of his forceful defense
of Chinese causes.
If this were so, then I would say that those UMNO operatives
were not very smart in releasing the tapes. I would have kept the video
absolutely secret, and then would support him on his leadership drive.
When he reaches the top you would have full control of him. To put it in
the vernacular, "you have him by the balls."
This is not far fetched, or a case of my imagination running
wild. Returning back to the Tunku, one of the inflammatory accusations
leveled at him was that he was "too pro Chinese." He was immune to
sexual scandals, so the prevailing thinking then was that the rich
Chinese were providing him the necessary cash for him to indulge his
expensive hobbies.
Strong Offense As A Strong Defense
I commend Chua for coming clean so quickly and for maintaining
his poise in his press conference. He even displayed a fine sense of
humor in inviting the reporters (presumably the females only) to view the
tapes with him! However, be careful what you ask for!
Chua needs to do more. He should hire the most skillful and
vicious lawyer to sue the hotel for invasion of his privacy and breach of
contract. When you rent a hotel room there is an implied contract that
you are entitled to its private use. As those cameras were not portable,
the managers should have known they were being installed and thus be
liable. I am of course assuming that Chua paid for the room. If the
room and its "services" were free (meaning, paid for by someone else)
then you get what you pay for.
Even if Chua does not prevail at least he would have the
satisfaction of forcing the management to spend money on its legal
defense. It might also encourage others who where guests at the hotel,
specifically those who had stayed in the same room, to join in the
lawsuit.
Chua could not possibly be further damaged by more revelations
no matter how kinky. When you have some mud on you, that would be dirt;
when you are totally covered, that would be a mud bath, and could be
therapeutic. Then it would be those who touched you who would be
dirtied.
A vigorous offense is often the best defense. By suing, Chua
could hopefully discourage future voyeuristic hotel operators from
indulging their fantasies. That could only be good for our tourist
industry. Who knows it might even discourage the government, especially
its religious authorities, from snooping around.
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