Malaysian Health Minister Chua Soi Lek quit after he was secretly filmed having sex with a woman in a video distributed in the southern state of Johor.

Chua, 60, also stepped down immediately as a vice president of the Malaysian Chinese Association, the nation's second- largest political party, and as a lawmaker for Labis in Johor, he said in a statement. Chua, who had held his cabinet post since 2004, yesterday named himself as the man in the recording.

The release of the tape may be part of a power struggle within the Malaysian Chinese Association, a member of the country's ruling coalition, according to the political opposition. Chua, married with three children, said yesterday it was ``obvious'' who made the tape and why, the New Straits Times reported today.

``It is widely known'' there are disagreements within the Malaysian Chinese Association, Lim Guan Eng, secretary general of the opposition Democratic Action Party, said in a statement. Chua's admission he was in the video was ``brave,'' Lim said.

Malaysia's ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, must call an election by early 2009, though some analysts have said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi may go to the polls early this year.

Police Investigation

Still frames from the recording, shown on national television yesterday, showed a man and woman from a camera above a bed. Copies of the video, which was stored on two compact discs, were dropped off last week at shops and on some streets in Johor, online news service Malaysiakini said.

Prime Minister Abdullah today declined to say whether the recording was politically motivated, though he promised to pursue those who made the tape.

``It was an invasion of privacy,'' he told reporters. ``The police will conduct an investigation.''

Chua's resignation won't influence the outcome of any general election, Abdullah said.

Chua said yesterday he didn't make the tape himself, and said the unidentified woman in the film was in her 30s and a personal friend, Malaysiakini reported.

One of the compact discs showed a 56-minute recording of the couple from four different angles, Malaysiakini said, citing those who watched the film. The second disc showed the same footage from one camera focused on the bed, the report said.

The former health minister apologized to the public, colleagues and his supporters at a televised news conference yesterday, according to Malaysiakini.