______________
Media Statement          
by Lim Kit Siang  
_________________

(Ipoh, Sunday): Four persons have been detained by the police in connection with the sex video of former Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek � a 29-year-old beauty salon owner in Taman Bukit Perdana, Batu Pahat and her assistant, a 50-year-old farmer in Batu Pahat and a 40-year-old man in a food court in Taman Sri Tebrau.

Johore Police sources have said that more arrests are expected in the coming days as police are confident of tracking down the main culprits behind the recording and distribution of the sex DVD.

Johore Police Chief Deputy Comm Datuk Hussin Ismail has said that the cases are being investigated under Section 292 of the Penal Code for distributing and having in possession material containing pornographic elements.

Unless the four persons detained were involved in the syndicate responsible for the recording and distribution of the sex DVD, they should be released immediately if their only offence is one of possession of the Chua DVD and no charges should be brought against them.

The Police should also abandon the earlier plan announced by the Muar police chief Asst Comm Mohammad Nasir Ramli to conduct door-to-door searches of residents in Batu Pahat and Muar suspected to be possession of the Chua sex DVD as it would be a gross abuse of police powers and an intolerable and unacceptable violation of privacy of ordinary Malaysians.

The police should first conduct house-to-house search of MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Members of Parliament and leaders for the Chua sex DVD before it thinks about house-to-house search of residents of Batu Pahat and Muar.

DCP Hussin said that it is an offence to keep the Chua sex DVD and those who have it should surrender it to the police or destroy it.

How many of the MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, MPs and leaders have surrendered their copies of the Chua DVD to the police?

In fact, the police should state how many copies of the Chua sex DVD had been surrendered to its since the organised and systematic public distribution of the DVDs on December 29 last year, which destroyed the high-flying political career of possibly the next MCA President in a matter of five days?

In Muar yesterday, the MCA Secretary-General Datuk Ong Ka Chuan asked MCA members to leave it to the police to investigate the mastermind behind the DVD scandal on the ground that it was not fair to accuse anyone of being the �black hand� behind Chua�s sudden downfall.

This is a classic and cowardly �passing of the buck� by the MCA political leadership.

From Chua�s many statements, the former MCA Vice President and Health Minister cannot be clearer that his downfall was an inside MCA job.

At most, the police may be able to ferret out the operatives of the Chua sex DVD conspiracy but not the �black hand� who masterminded it, who must occupy very influential position in the top MCA leadership hierarchy.

Chua�s supporters in MCA in Johore and other parts of the country, as illustrated by the 3,000 MCA members who thronged to the Batu Pahat Chinese Chamber of Commerce Hall last night to demonstrate their support of Chua on his return to Batu Pahat, clearly wanted the �black hand� for Chua�s downfall to be identified, exposed and punished.

However, this sentiment is not shared by the top MCA leadership, as all the top MCA leaders starting with the two Ong brothers are engaged in �a game of pretended innocence and ignorance�, claiming that they do not know that a �black hand� had caused the sudden crash and end of Chua�s political career and evincing no interest whatsoever to identify the �mastermind� through internal party investigations, when they know that this is a political and not a police question.

Even Ong Tee Kiat joined in this �game of pretended innocence and ignorance� when he publicly urged Chua to substantiate and expose the culprits behind his downfall � forgetting that he was himself once a victim of such a MCA �black hand� causing him to making the serious charge of �black gold� scandal in MCA politics, which he has as yet to substantiate publicly.

Chua Soi Lek is facing a second conspiracy � the �conspiracy of silence� of the MCA leadership over the MCA �black hand� who had successfully carried out the first conspiracy to end his political life by recording and distributing the sex DVD.
 

(06/01/2008)