TIAN Chua has apologised to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim for going against the party line to stand as an Independent in the Batu parliamentary seat.

By doing so, he is challenging PKR’s official candidate, incumbent P. Prabakaran. 

“I have to seek his (Anwar’s) forgiveness for doing that. I have no intention to provoke him and I think his expression of disappointment is real,” he said in an interview in The Vibes today.

“Yet, we have been friends for such a long time. We have been comrades and brothers in struggle.

“I think no matter what happens, what work we choose and what action we take, it doesn’t affect our friendship and my support for his values and struggle.

“This is something we share in common. We might not share certain strategies, tactics or sometimes policies, where there could be certain contradictions, but our ability to see through these and to share a common vision will always be there.”

The former two-term Batu MP also said he understood that the party will have to take disciplinary action against him for his move.

“As president, he has to abide by the regulation laid down by the party. He cannot say he condones (my action), which is against the party,” he said.

Tian Chua said he is contesting to retain the “reformasi” values in Batu, adding that the voters want leaders who have championed the reformation movement.

“If you care to check with them, many are happy that at least I provide that option for them to choose in order to retain the seat for the progressive voices,” he said.

“I’m not representing myself. I represent the aspirations of the ‘reformasi’ generation.

“We have contributed to toppling Umno and rejecting corruption. We have achieved that, but I think this voice must stay in order to continue participating in this discourse.”

Yesterday, Tian Chua filed his nomination papers to contest as an Independent in a crowded field of 10 candidates.

The PKR veteran was disqualified from contesting in the 2018 general election due to a RM2,000 fine for insulting the modesty of a police officer.

Prabakaran won the seat as an Independent in that election with the support of Tian Chua and PKR, and then joined the party.

However, over the years, their relationship had deteriorated. In the recent party polls, Prabakaran defeated Tian Chua to be the Batu PKR division chief.

Apart from Prabakaran and Tian Chua, the others who are in the race are A. Kohilan Pillay (Barisan Nasional-MIC), Azhar Yahya (Perikatan Nasional-PAS), Wan Azliana Wan Adnan (Gerakan Tanah Air-Pejuang), Naganathan Pillai (Warisan) and Mohd Zulkifli Abdul Fattah (Parti Rakyat Malaysia).

The Independents are lawyer-cum-activist Siti Zabedah Kasim, social media influencer Nur Fathiah Syazwana Shaharudin and social activist Too Cheng Huat. 

Anwar was reported as saying yesterday that the party has automatically sacked Tian Chua for standing as an Independent against the party’s candidate.

However, party deputy president Rafizi Ramli has been reported as saying that any action to be taken against Tian Chua for not toeing the party line would only be after the polls. – November 6, 2022.