KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian opposition lawmaker resigned Tuesday in response to a scandal which erupted after her nude photos, believed to be taken without her consent while she was sleeping, were circulated widely via cell phone.

The People’s Justice Party, led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, decided Tuesday to accept Elizabeth Wong’s resignation as assemblyman for the central Selangor state.

Wong, 37, did not deny that she was the person in the photographs, but said a police report has been lodged against the parties distributing them without her consent.

The well-known human rights activist, who is single, said the move was an attempt to discredit the party.

‘I have done nothing wrong. I wish to state that I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and as a single person,’ an emotional Wong said at a press conference early Tuesday.

‘I have broken no law. I stand by the fundamental principles of a democracy that everyone has a right to privacy,’ she said.

Local news reports say the photos were believed to have been taken by her ex-boyfriend without her knowledge in her home.

Her resignation paves the way for a by-election, which must be called within 60 days.

The scandal and resignation is yet another slap in the face for Anwar’s three-party opposition alliance, which earlier this month lost control of the northern Perak state to the ruling National Front through lawmaker defections.

The opposition created history when they won control of an unprecedented five out of Malaysia’s 13 states during the March general elections, and denied the National Front of its two-thirds majority in Parliament.