INTERVIEW | Former MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek has not been shy about addressing his extramarital affairs 10 years ago in his autobiography, which is slated to be released on Sunday.

The vocal former health minister said he had “nothing to hide” when it came to the sex video scandal.

"Yes, I wrote (about the sex scandal) in my book. What's wrong about that? It is the truth, what?" he told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview yesterday.

While Chua, 72, did not reveal in detail how he approached the 2008 incident in his book titled Like Me or Hate Me: Rising From The Political Ashes, he said he took pride in handling his past mistake with “guts” and has since moved on.

"I made a mistake, I never hid it, I admitted it, I apologised and I paid for it. I went on (with my life)," he said.

"Who has the 'guts' to really be like me and admit (that I was the man in the sex video). Why don't people talk about the positive part? Why do they talk only about the negative part?" he asked.

"Those people who condemn me are either cowards or hypocrites. (They are) cowards because they do not dare admit they, too, had done it, (and they are) hypocrites because these people who had done it pretend (they had) not done it," he said.

"If they are not happy, please come and shoot me," he said.

Chua stressed that he was now living a happy life and was not bothered about what his detractors said about him.

Revisiting the scandal during the interview, he said he had no regret in admitting he was the person in the covertly-taped video as the incident did not taint his political career in the long term.

"Why should I regret? I later became the party president," he said. "Some women (came up to me) and said, 'You are a man of honour, at least you did not expose who your woman friend was.'

"That time, the press kept forcing me to reveal who the woman was. To me, that is not fair. It was a trap and we were the victims. So how could I expose the woman?" he said.

Asked if he named the parties who masterminded the sex video episode in his autobiography, Chua said he was not a policeman to be able to do that.

Chua was health minister from 2004 until 2008, during the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administration, during which his image was marred by the scandal.

Hidden camera footage of his bedroom antics with a “personal friend” was circulated anonymously through DVDs, forcing him to resign from all his posts in MCA and in the government.

This included his post of MCA vice-president and as the Member of Parliament for Labis. In 2009, he was expelled by the MCA disciplinary committee over the scandal.

Tremendous challenge

Nevertheless, Chua staged a remarkable political comeback that saw him being reinstated as an MCA member, followed by his election as the party president in 2010.

He held the top post until 2013 when MCA suffered serious losses in the 13th general election. He then decided not to contest the party elections held later that year.

Chua brushed off speculation that the launch of his new book was timed to coincide with the MCA elections on Nov 4.

"I am not involved in the MCA elections. To me, my book is more important. This is the only date I have because next month I am travelling with my wife and friends to China," he explained.

Chua said he spent 15 months since 2016 writing his book and upon its completion, sent it to the MPH Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd for publication.

"When they (the publishers) read it through, they were worried about legal implications. So, they then had their legal team go through it," he said.

"I guess I wrote in my truthful manner that people may not be happy about," he added.

It took an additional four months for the book to be translated from English to Chinese, he said.

Chua, who had openly questioned the leadership of incumbent party president Liow Tiong Lai and presidential candidate Wee Ka Siong, said Gan Ping Sieu's (photo) bid to be the new party president had his blessings.

Gan, the Kluang MCA chairperson, is in a three-cornered fight for the president’s post, with incumbent deputy president Wee, 50, and newcomer Ngoo Teck Keong.

Chua revealed that it was a tremendous challenge for him, as a person who does not keep a diary, to write a book from sheer memory.

He hoped the book would inspire others in MCA to write about their political lives, instead of just taking pictures.

He said he chose a “catchy” title for his book as he felt that while some people liked him, there were others who were unhappy with him and perceived his straightforwardness as arrogance.

"I am fully aware that a lot of people are not happy with me. They feel that I am arrogant and abrasive but there are also a lot of people who appreciate that I am direct and frank, rather than being vague," he said.

"So, why not just put a title like that, 'Like me or hate me'? That is Chua Soi Lek, agree?" he grinned.