By Lisa J. Ariffin
PETALING JAYA, July 8 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek turned around today to accuse Lim Guan Eng of dragging him into his domestic problems, claiming it was a ploy by the Penang Chief Minister to divert attention away from rumours of his alleged affair with another woman.
Despite acknowledging that it was MCA’s Malacca chief Datuk Gan Tian Loo who first made the accusations against Lim, Dr Chua pointed to how the latter had been quick to dredge up his name and his 2007 sex scandal the moment the issue surfaced.
“I am disappointed at Guan Eng and his wife’s attitude... how he linked the issue to me and then after doing so, he accused MCA of practising gutter politics.
“All I said was — did it (the affair) happen or not? If not, deny it. Why involve me, the prime minister and the whole world?” Dr Chua told reporters when met this afternoon, minutes before his debate with Lim at the Sunway Convention Centre here.
Lim and his wife, Malacca assemblyman Betty Chew, recently found themselves the target of an alleged sex controversy after Gan accused Lim during the Malacca state assembly sitting of having an affair with an aide.
Gan had also demanded the DAP secretary-general’s wife to reply to allegations that she had beaten up the woman because of the affair, resulting in the latter’s transfer out of the Penang CM’s office.
When the issue first hit media headlines, Lim had lashed out at MCA, reminding the party of the sex scandal involving Dr Chua (picture) in 2007, which has been blamed as part of the reason behind the party’s dismal losses in Election 2008.
“I have no close or secret relationship with my former staff. My wife has never assaulted me or anyone in her life.
“Let MCA repeat their allegations publicly so that my wife and [I] can prove in court that, ‘Lim Guan Eng is not Chua Soi Lek!’, he had said in a statement.
Dr Chua, a former health minister, was secretly filmed having sex in a hotel with his lover in 2007 and was forced to resign from all his government and political positions ahead of Election 2008 after video recordings of his trysts were publicly leaked.
More to come.