A senior Indonesian politician has resigned from the country's largest political party after he was featured with a popular singer on a sex tape that was widely circulated. Yahya Zaini - the head of the Golkar Party's religious affairs department, which has responsibility for moral issues - submitted his resignation from the party yesterday. It was immediately approved by its chairman, Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia's Vice-President. The married Mr Zaini will lose his House of Representatives seat after Golkar's deputy chairman, Agung Laksono, said the process was under way to remove him from parliament.
The video that prompted the resignation is less than a minute long and has been circulated via mobile phones and email. Mr Zaini and singer Maria Eva can be clearly identified in it. Mr Zaini flew back from a parliamentary study tour in Australia at the weekend as news of the tape spread. He is reportedly in hiding in Jakarta. Eva, however, appeared at a tearful press conference yesterday and admitted to making the tape, but denied distributing it.
The singer said she had loved Mr Zaini but their affair had ended two years ago. She added she was pressured to have an abortion by him and his wife. "He asked me to marry him, but I declined the offer as I don't want to be his second wife," The Jakarta Post quoted Eva assaying.
The scandal broke as Islamic leaders and political parties campaign for tougher morality laws in Indonesia, including outlawing pornography and public displays of affection. Politicians and religious leaders in the nation with the world's largest Muslim population have called for harsh action to be taken against Mr Zaini. In Indonesia, many politicians have playboy reputations but take care to keep their private lives private. Mr Zaini is the first to be caught on tape.