KUALA LUMPUR: Independent candidate Chua Tian Chang, who is among those who threw their hats into the ring for the 10-cornered fight in Batu, Kuala Lumpur, has apologised to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim.
Mr Chua, a former PKR vice president who is better known as Tian Chua, was quoted as saying by Berita Harian on Sunday (Nov 6) that he was contesting in the parliamentary seat as he wanted to serve.
After Tian Chua submitted his nomination papers on Saturday, Mr Anwar said that he will be sacked from PKR for running as an independent.
PKR’s deputy president Rafizi Ramli later said that the party will discuss Tian Chua’s move to contest in Batu as an independent candidate after the 15th General Election (GE15) as the focus should now be on campaigning efforts.
According to the Berita Harian report, Tian Chua said: “I have to respect the president’s power. I understand Anwar’s dilemma, he is forced to carry out the responsibility as president to follow the party’s rules.”
“I really understand his disappointment and I apologise for being forced to do something that saddens him.
“But I wish to emphasise that my friendship with Anwar will not change even a bit at all, although affected by current political situations,” Tian Chua, who is among the founding members of PKR, added.
He also said that he continues to respect Anwar and appreciate his sacrifices as a leader.
Tian Chua was Batu Member of Parliament from 2008 to 2018. During the 2018 polls, Tian Chua was disqualified to contest and his nomination was rejected due to an RM2,000 (US$421) fine from a court case that he paid in 2010.
Tian Chua is among the PKR politicians who are believed to be close to former PKR deputy president and current caretaker senior minister Azmin Ali.
In 2020, as part of what is commonly known as the Sheraton Move, Mr Azmin led several PKR lawmakers to leave the party. This was among the factors that resulted in the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration at that time. Mr Azmin later joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
Tian Chua was dropped from PKR’s GE15 line-up.
The 10-cornered fight in Batu is the most crowded contest in GE15. There are six candidates from the major coalitions including PKR’s P. Prabakaran, Malaysian Indian Congress’ A. Kohilan Pillay and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia’s Azhar Yahya.
Besides Tian Chua, there are three other independent candidates.