[Straits Times] A MALAYSIAN opposition lawmaker embroiled in a scandal over leaked photos of her sleeping partially naked reversed her decision to leave politics on Wednesday. The opposition People's Justice Party had urged Elizabeth Wong, 37, to keep her seat in the central Selangor state legislature following her return from an extended leave after photos of her sleeping at home surfaced on the Internet in February.
Wong had previously offered to resign, saying she wanted to avoid a political mess for her party even though she insisted she hadn't done anything wrong.
On Wednesday, she announced she would keep her post, adding that her 'only wish is to serve my constituents and the state to the best of my abilities.'
'I have been stripped bare publicly - both figuratively and literally - by force and against my will,' Wong said in a statement. She stressed that if she 'chose to retreat into silence, (it) would in turn indirectly affect women, especially women politicians.'
News reports have said the photos were believed to have been taken by her ex-boyfriend without her knowledge last year. Police are searching for the man, who has allegedly left Malaysia since the scandal broke.