Hero to zero to hero

I'm amazed and feeling incredulous at the turn of events. Wasn't it just about a week ago that the popular press contributed to the downfall of our healthy ex-minister after he admitted to a liaison with a personal friend? The way it was being reported, Chua Soi Lek's tail was between his legs and he had been forced to resign. All the sordid details of his affair were being aired in the open.

For any ordinary bloke, that would be the end of any career. Resign he may have done but he was promised by the Prime Minister that there would be a full-scale investigation into the video-taping of the liaison. The police went into high gear and quickly rounded up some people stupid enough not to have read the newspapers, listened to the radio or read the blogs.

Yes, for any other ordinary person, this shame would be hard to live with. But Chua Soi Lek is no ordinary person. No, he sniffed and chose the high ground. He used the right moment to make a few general statements and popular remarks about corruption and morality, and poof! Suddenly, his popularity soared to heights not seen below. See his grin? See the crowds around him, male and female? Never mind his secret liaison with a personal friend. Never mind the scandal. Never mind his admission. He's a hero again! A much-loved hero! Wahh....!!



Common, people, here is a man who admits to adultery. Do you know what this word means? My Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner's English Dictionary says: If a married person commits adultery, they have sex with someone that they are not married to. For good measure, the dictionary adds: An adulterous relationship is a sexual relationship between a married person and someone they are not married to. An adulterous person is someone who commits adultery. Clear or not?

So, despite whatever popular remarks that the good doctor may have uttered to the press, it does not absolve himself from an adulterous situation. Then why is the press treating him like some kind of hero? You'd think that if Chua Soi Lek is transported today to the United States, he would wipe aside Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton or Mitt Romney or John McCain or anyone else that're seeking party nominations for their presidential elections.

But here in Malaysia, he IS now a big local celebrity. A rehabilitation. A reverse "holier than thou" situation. He's unholier than you, so he has a right to pontificate about those "holy" ones. It's not about him uncovering some big corruption issues in the country. Or some other big-time morality issues. Incredible, disgustingly incredible!

Even as I read the newspapers, it's even being suggested (see below) that Chua Soi Lek can be of help to his political party in campaigning in the next general election. That's coming from someone whose name has already been tainted with the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal. Boy, people really have short memory. Or selective memory. Imagine, using an outed adulterer to tell voters that he and his party can still be trusted. What sort of message are you conveying to people? What sort of political leaders do you think we really want?