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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's former health minister has made a political comeback less than a year after he resigned in disgrace over a sex scandal.
Chua Soi Lek was elected as the deputy president of the Malaysian Chinese Association late Saturday (18 Oct), defeating three other contenders for the No. 2 post in the largest political party representing the ethnic Chinese minority. Chua has pledged to revitalize the party, a key member of the governing coalition that suffered massive losses in March general elections. "With all party members' support and cooperation, we now need to reunite and reform the party," Chua said in a statement. Chua stepped down as health minister in January after DVDs mysteriously surfaced showing him having extramarital sex with a woman in a hotel room. Chua has indicated he believes his political rivals conspired against him to make the video and wreck his career. The Malaysian Chinese Association won only 15 parliamentary seats _ barely half of its previous 31 seats _ in the March elections. The losses were fueled by disillusionment among supporters about the party's alleged failure to fight for the Chinese minority's economic and religious rights amid concerns about government policies that some say are racially discriminatory in favor of the majority Malays. (AP)
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