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SEX-VIDEO HOTEL?: Hotel Katerina in Batu Pahat is popular with politicians. -- PHOTO: WWW.MARIMARI.COM
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IN KUALA LUMPUR - A HOTEL popular with politicians and royalty has been thrust into the spotlight by the sex scandal involving Malaysia's former health minister.
The four-star Hotel Katerina in quiet Batu Pahat is widely believed to be the place where Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek engaged in an extra-marital affair with an unidentified young woman.
Their sexual escapades were filmed in secret, then distributed on DVD in a plot that Dr Chua hinted was hatched within his own political party, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA).
The 15-storey Hotel Katerina has all the appearances of an upmarket hotel. Its 188 rooms include 28 suites, with prices listed on its website ranging from RM160 (S$70) to RM800 per night.
The Star newspaper said the hotel is popular with VIPs and businessmen.
Its guests have included the prime minister and members of royalty, as well as the former health minister.
Adding to the conspiracy theory is that unlike other rooms, security in the suite where the tryst allegedly took place was tight, according to other local papers.
In fact, guests from other floors have no access to that floor.
The suite's high price also keeps away all but the few who can afford it.
The hotel has not released any statement about its alleged role in the scandal.
The Star said its sales and marketing manager neither confirmed nor denied the sex video was filmed there.
When The Straits Times called the hotel yesterday, a member of the front-office staff said: 'Sorry, we are not prepared to comment.'
As Dr Chua noted in his statement when he resigned on Wednesday, his preference for conducting his extra-marital activities in the same suite in the same hotel could have made it easier for political rivals to set him up.
'My biggest mistake was that I stayed in the hotel and in the same room for convenience,' he said.
Four cameras hidden in the suite recorded him having sex without his knowledge.
Dr Chua was a rising star in the MCA, so the scandal could hurt the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the upcoming general election.
But Mr Tang Ah Chai, chief executive officer of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, which represents the community's interests, played down that possibility.
'This will hurt the MCA more than it will hurt BN, as Datuk Seri Chua is from the party and allegations of conspiracy come from within MCA,' he said.
Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng said Dr Chua's resignation would minimise damage to the government's image.
Likewise, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told Bernama that he did not think the episode would give the opposition an advantage.
kumhor@sph.com.sg
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