MALAYSIAN police are seeking the ex-boyfriend of opposition politician Elizabeth Wong after photos of her in the nude were circulated.
He has been identified as Mr Hilmi Malek (above), 32, who worked as a personal assistant to lawmaker Hee Loy Sian for nine months after last year's March general election.
Like Miss Wong, Mr Hee is also from the opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said they had received two nude photographs, and a CD, of the 37-year-old Wong from a Malay Mail journalist.
The photos, which have been circulating since last week, reportedly show Miss Wong partially covered by a sarong. It is not known how the private snaps ended up in public circulation.
Police have recorded statements from four journalists from the Malay Mail and Sun, reportedly the first two newspapers to have received the photos.
They also recorded Miss Wong's statement on Tuesday, after she offered to resign from her Selangor executive councillor and assemblyman posts. PKR has not yet accepted her resignation. She is now on leave.
According to the Malay Mail, Mr Hilmi has been missing since last Saturday, with unconfirmed reports saying he has left the country. The paper quoted Mr Hilmi's colleagues as saying they were aware of his relationship with Miss Wong and that the latter had revealed that they had split up recently.
Prominent blogger and opposition MP Jeff Ooi wrote on his blog that this would be the second time a politician's aide was involved in such a scandal, and suggested they were 'trojan horses'. He cited the earlier example of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who had accused Mr Anwar of having sodomised him.
'I believe there is a dire need for all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and elected representatives to beware of trojan horses in our earnest deeds to recruit new blood and party cadres,' he wrote.
For now, it appears that Miss Wong could continue as assemblyman.
PKR insiders said she may relinquish her executive council position in the Selangor government, but public support could enable her to keep her state seat, the Malaysian Insider news website reported.
Selangor chief minister Khalid Ibrahim has said he is open to the idea, but added he would seek the advice of the Selangor sultan and discuss the matter with the state executive council.
THE storm over the semi-naked photographs of an opposition assemblywoman may have started as a private matter, but it has now become a complicated political mess for both sides.
Bullets have been fired at the Barisan Nasional (BN) for using it as a political weapon. But the opposition Pakatan Rakyat is also grappling with the difficulties of defending its assemblywoman without alienating the conservatives in its midst.
The BN took the first hit after the photographs of Selangor state's Miss Elizabeth Wong began circulating. Some even called it a BN conspiracy, despite the lack of evidence.
'This is a nasty, humiliating personal attack on her and we have seen this pattern of attack in Perak, Kedah and now, in Selangor,' opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was quoted as saying in The Star daily yesterday.
Asked for proof that the BN was responsible, he reportedly said several blogs had made the link.
Deputy Premier Najib Razak yesterday denied that the BN was behind the scandal, and told the opposition to stop making baseless accusations.
'Where is the proof? Who did it? I don't know anything about it and suddenly the issue exploded in the papers. If they want to accuse us, please show proof,' he said.
There seems to be widespread belief in a conspiracy. This is not surprising as the BN is carrying the heavy burden of a loss of public confidence.
The timing of the photographs comes close to the toppling of the opposition government in Perak, and the resignation of an opposition assemblyman in Kedah. Mr V. Arumugam resigned abruptly after being accused of marrying another woman without divorcing his first wife.
'He was targeted, and it turned into a morality issue,' said political analyst Khoo Kay Peng.
In fact, many BN leaders, including the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) women's chief Chew Mei Fun and Gerakan women's chief Tan Lian Hoe, have been sympathetic to Miss Wong.
They were swift to support her when the photographs of her asleep, partially naked, surfaced.
Miss Wong, 37, who tendered her resignation on Tuesday, did not say who took the photographs, but police are looking to question her former boyfriend Hilmi Malek, 32.
But what caught attention was Umno Youth chief aspirant Khir Toyo's call for Miss Wong's resignation. 'She is a single person. How can she allow a man into her room when they are not married?' he was quoted as saying.
There is vast sympathy for Miss Wong from the public, and Datuk Seri Dr Khir was slammed by many for his remarks.
But the opposition is also aware that there is a segment of Malaysian society who thinks like him, and views premarital sex as a sin.
'Wong the politician understands that there are people who do mind, and some could be in her constituency, hence her offer to resign,' columnist Zainul Arifin wrote in the New Straits Times.
Miss Wong had said she wanted to resign because she believed the attacks by the BN would continue with greater intensity.
But even within her coalition, there appears to be difficulties.
The conservative Parti Islam SeMalaysia has not spoken with one voice. While its women's chief Nuridah Salleh supported Miss Wong, its Selangor leadership has been ambivalent.
'If investigations reveal any moral transgression on the part of Wong, we feel that appropriate action must be taken against her to safeguard the integrity and good name of Pakatan Rakyat and the Selangor government,' it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The issue is complicated by the fact that Ms Wong's former boyfriend is Muslim, and is subject to Islamic laws on morality, such as those on close proximity.
'The matter could take on a new dimension,' said an MCA politician.
As Mr Khoo noted, the political twist in this private matter has merely reinforced the belief that sex scandals are the most potent tool to destroy political rivals in Malaysia. -- Carolyn Hong
The Blogs 
