Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's Health Minister Chua Soi Lek has admitted to being the man shown engaging in a sex romp captured in two DVDs that have gained wide circulation but says he will not resign.
One of the country's senior politicians, Chua, who is also vice president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), says he has left the final decision to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whom he met Tuesday.
"I have seen Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and I have personally apologised to them," Chua said, reading from a one-page statement.
He also apologised to Malaysians, his supporters and colleagues while saying that he had not recorded the video clip.
Chua said he knows "who did this and why - it is obvious", but refused to elaborate.
His wife Wong Sek Hin and children have accepted his apologies.
"It is a difficult time for all of us but we have accepted his regrets and apology," Wong said in a statement issued in Chua's support.
She said Chua has been a good husband, father and family man who had never shirked his responsibilities.
"We know that it will be difficult during this time but we will go through this together as a family and will support him," the statement added.
The Star daily, describing 60-year-old Chua as "a no-nonsense minister", said he faced the media calmly and replied to all questions.
In a statement he read out, Chua said the woman in the video was his "personal friend".
"I saw the DVD Sunday when a friend gave a copy to me," he said. He said he was unsure whether the clips were recent or old.
Asked about his political future, Chua said: "I leave it to party members, leaders and the Malaysian public to be the judge. It's not for me to speculate."
The MCA, which represents the ethnic Chinese community that constitutes 33 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people, went into a huddle as the two DVDs found their way into homes and offices, in many case through anonymous postage or just dropped in the letterbox.
Many MCA leaders were among the 100 supporters present at the news conference.
Media reports said Chua has sought to reach out to the Malaysian Indian community that forms the third largest ethnic segment with eight percent of the population. After the press conference Tuesday, he immediately left for a meeting with Indian leaders.
"I will not let people tarnish, prevent and stop me from carrying the duties entrusted to me as a minister, the lawmaker said.
Although Chua has lodged a report, the police have on their own launched an investigation into the production and circulation of the DVDs. It has warned the public that possession of these tapes is a crime and has asked that they be surrendered.
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