De-bugging after the ‘bugging’ episode

The first episode of the “Politician having sex scandal in a hotel”, with the person in the widely circulated DVD in North Johor identified himself openly and admitted to the wrong doing and amidst intense pressure, especially online, did the onus and resigned the very next day.

Now the second episode has to be addressed. The first episode saw how some irresponsible and ill intended people with malice, abuse technology and invaded into someone’s privacy. It is unlawful to do that. The Police has issued statement that the case will be investigated and three days ago, the Police forensic department were at the Batu Pahat four-star hotel to collect evidence and interview some staff.

There had been a much gained attention precedence to this. Local TV and film personality Nasha Aziz went through the same ordeal when a businessman bugged her home and captured shots of her undressing.

This will naturally cause alarm to the hundred of thousands of hotel patrons and guests, that accommodate all over 155,000 hotel rooms all over the country. The ‘bugging’ that happened to former Health Minister Dato’ Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek could also happen to anyone else.

Today, TV3 raised this issue. When interviewed, Tourism Minister Tengku Dato’ Adnan Mansor said the Ministry will instruct all hotels to surrender their recording using the security system for scrutiny.

There is also a talk that all the 155,000 hotel rooms offered for business in 2400 hotels should be scanned and certified free from any ‘bugging’ apparatus, to give comfort for the local and foreign tourism industry customers. This is necessary to cater to the prioritised industry which over 17.5 million tourist flock and brought over RM 37 billion into the country, annually.

The thirteen million plus Ringgit question here is, who is the lucky bugger, or in this case, de-bugger who will get the business, whether to operate or supply of scanner equipments to these hotels and who will foot the bill?

Published in: on January 5, 2008 at 13:36  Comments (7)  

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7 CommentsLeave a comment

  1. remember the police got shot at sg buloh? Pak Lah told us that it’s not SOP and the police did not even wear bullet proof jacket? Later the week, the chief of police bought lot of bullet proof jackets…
    which department is the most likely be held to buy the anti-bugging scanner or devices of that sort other than MOF?
    That’s your answer bigdog!

  2. I doubt cases of snooping on extramarital affair of public figure will affect the tourism and hotel industry.

    Wouldn’t be surprise to find some tourist condone the snooper’s act. If it will affect temporarily, it would be the Katerina Hotel of Batu Pahat. For all you know, it could attract more curiosity and room 1401 will rise in value from RM800 to RM1,200 a night?

    In the Dr Chua issue, he has practically abstain himself that right of privacy by acknowledging his involvement. In fact, he abstain his right the day he entered politics and become a leader. Furthermore, Dr Chua decide not to make a police report on this invasion of privacy.

    The issue is no more and has transcended beyond the right of the individual.

    Dr Chua is a political leader, people’s representative, minister and the least a public figure. He is deemed as a fresh addition to the cabinet after the 2004 election. Many perceived him as the only “working” MCA Minister.

    In his various role as community and national leader, he has an obligation to maintain a high level of morality and integrity. Even though he viewed other’s as bad attitude of being “holier than thou” and someone trying to frame him, it is an issue of himself.

    As a people’s representative, the people as a right to know of their representative. The public have a right to know of their representative’s character, private affair even and in the event of conduct of impropriety and poor discretion.

    His sense of responsibility and honesty to his family is also very important. Many tend to take the ‘practical’ easy way out to say it is common among rich people and powerful Chinese and the woman in the community has come to term with it. Perhaps so and perhaps not entirely true.

    Think of this in another way: If he cheated on his own wife, the person he struggles and make a live together, what else can be the possibility? Perhaps the consolation would be if he is doing it with a clear sense of guilt. What if he does not think along that line?

    Is this not a deception to the his constituency to reflect not his true self?

    All this allow the community to determine their trust and confidence in their representative. To represent the community, it is the community to determien the criteria to go by. The unfortunate reality is as one become a person of such in a community, it is also the community to determine between one’s privacy vis-a-vis public knowledge, private time and the information needed to know.

    Even in countries quite liberal with their sexuality and adamant of their pravacy like UK, France, US and etc, sexual indiscretion by public figures in PRIVATE is still not acceptable. WHat more here?

    I think the police have better thinsg to do like pursue the murderer of Nurin Jazlin. The high profile given to the investigation make them look bad as though they are part of a vendetta by the powerful.

  3. The honourable thing to do is for Dr. Chua to find out who’s the culprit and cruxify them for invading into his privacy. But then he is not. Maybe now he realized that he’s jobless and have more time to fling. See .. he’s actually happy and positive about it. Anyway, why wanna work for a Fool, when you can enjoy life like a King

  4. Is Malaysia becoming a police nation. The Barisan Government will do anything to cover their evil doings. This idea is giving the government too much power. Individual privacy is lost.

  5. I think individual privacy will be the next big issue to affect us. With the explosion of the Internet and sites like YouTube and Google (i.e., “googling” someone), the idea of “privacy” has become most tenuous…

  6. BigDog,

    If you sleep around behind your wife’s back, does it necessarily mean that you are likely to embezzle moeny from your company?

    I’m more concerned about how ministers can afford multimillion ringgit mansions living way beyond their means than one minister who lives within his means but has an extra marital affair.

    The rakyat should get their priorities right! Screw the politician who screws us, not the politician who screws his girlfriend!

    That I agree. ‘Itchy peckers’ doesn’t mean one would take money or opportunity to make money, which are not theirs.

  7. […] was an idea that hotel rooms needed to be ‘de-bugged’ and certified free from any listening, concealed mini cameras and transmitting devices, to […]


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