In Kuala Lumpur
THERE'S nothing like a sex scandal to drive up interest in politics.
As news broke yesterday that nude photos of Selangor assemblywoman Elizabeth Wong were being distributed, everyone wanted to sneak a peek at them.
Someone raised a false alarm that they were posted on news website Agenda Daily, and everyone scrambled to log on - only to find that it was a picture of her slightly leaning on the Selangor chief minister.
Searches on Youtube also came up with nothing.
Then it became apparent that journalists would be among the first to get their hands on them.
Suddenly, those working in the media circles became the most popular people around.
Call them curious or call them busybodies, friends started inundating journalists here with requests for the opposition politician's photos.
It got so bad that a few had to post on their Facebook profiles to tell "all the perverts" to get lost and get a life.
It was heartening to see the media circle standing their ground, considering that Ms Wong, 37, appears to be a victim in all this.
The photos were said to have been taken when she was asleep and without her consent, and distributing the pictures would only be helping the person - suspected to be a spurned ex-lover - trying to tarnish her reputation.
The mainstream media have so far respected her privacy and none of them published the said photos - although we did spy a picture of her sleeping (mostly her face and no nudity, of course) on a major English news website for a couple of hours.
A few papers have also slyly juxtaposed some unrelated sexy photos from other stories next to the headline of Ms Wong's scandal.
For Ms Wong, however, this is set to be a long drawn-out affair. The latest news is that a poison pen letter is circulating, detailing a list of her numerous ex-boyfriends.
As for those who really want to see the photos, they might not have to wait very long. Nothing can be kept under wraps forever and someone will no doubt leak them onto the Internet at some point. In fact, it is believed that some pictures have already leaked.
Last year, when then-health minister Chua Soi Lek was implicated in his sex scandal - the married man was caught on tape having sex with a female friend - it took about a week before the video appeared in public space.
So now, what is that you're asking? Do I have Ms Wong's pictures?
Oh get lost, you pervert.