VIDEO INSERTED UPDATE3 PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng returned to the political limelight amid a rousing welcome after a two weeks leave, during which his political enemies had tried their best to paint him as a traitor and harass him out of the party he left the MCA to join in 2009.
At a press conference held at the PKR headquarters, Jui Meng showed his political finesse, fielding with ease the toughest questions put to him including on the contentious Gelang Patah seat, his much-publicized relationship with DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang and Boo Cheng Hau.
"At this moment, there is no seat that can be said to be offered to me. At the moment PKR has 11 parliamentary seats. We had 12 seats. I am not in the business of usurping anyone. I intend to make sure all these people (his PKR colleagues) win. But it is not in my character to ask anyone to make way for me," Jui Meng told a press conference on Friday.
"I had a house and that was called Gelang Patah. I was asked to work there. Later I was asked to leave and of course it was good that the party said it would look for another for me. But unfortunately up to now, no doors have been opened to me. And I have said, that does not matter to me. What matters is that PR wins and wins big."
Support Kit Siang, Gelang Patah is highly winnable
Jui Meng, a former MCA vice president and Health Minister, called on Malaysians to support PR in GE13 and Kit Siang in Gelang Patah.
"I am honored that Kit Siang is to be the man to replace me in Gelang Patah," said Jui Meng, referring to the DAP adviser's strong record in the Opposition.
"Gelang Patah is a highly winnable seat. Yes, the people are disappointed but disappointment doesn't last. We must accept the new reality and continue the fight for reforms and justice in Malaysia for all Malaysians. We must get rid of corruption and poverty. These are the reasons why I joined the Reformasi movement," referring to the PKR supporters in Gelang Patah.
When asked about his relationship with Boo, who had threatened 3-corner fights in all areas the PR could not agree on, Jui Meng said "he is a young man with a bright future".
"There is no hatchet to bury. I have no quarrel with dr Boo Cheng Hau. I have never started any quarrel with Dr Boo. There was no need for the so-called quarrel in the press. When one person wants to quarrel and I refuse to quarrel, you cannot call that a quarrel, OK? I just received, I have no axe to grind with him."
Target of a vicious internal attack
At the packed press conference, the turnout was an eyeopener for Jui Meng's critics. In his sixties, the former MCA man whom Boo had tried to tar with accusations that he was a BN turncoat and a latent 'Trojan horse' - remarks for which the DAP man has yet to apologize for - it is clear Jui Meng is no political washout.
Instead, he still wields his famous charisma. He was flanked by stalwarts from the PKR Johor division and also accompanying him were PKR senior leaders Tan Kee Kwong, Tan Yee Kew and Tan Poh Lai.
Earlier, Jui Meng explained why he chose to go incommunicado after Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. Apart from Jui Meng, PKR had also upset many of its grassroots by opting to 'helicopter' in other candidates for seats it had previously promised to others.
As such, many had turned to Jui Meng - the JB PKR chief - to stand up for them, and he has tried his best to do what he can. Not all the seats in Johor have finalized and PKR is due to announce its candidates early next week.
"Long time no see, long time no hear. 2 weeks is a very long time in politics. They say that silence is golden. Silence is also pregnant. I have taken leave for 2 weeks and I communicated this to Datuk Seri Anwar and the leave ended 3 days before the dissolution of Parliament (April 3). During these few weeks, I spent in introspection, it was also a very refreshing one. I spent the time with my family and it was a very meaningful period of my life," said Jui Meng.
"I must disappoint some people today and some leaders outside that at no time did I consider resigning from PKR. At this point in time, I remain a PKR member and a PKR leader. People ask me if there is any seat but I say that it is not important. I have reached a stage where I have options. I win if I stand, I also win if I do not stand. It is an enviable position."
For a while, I thought I was 40 again: DEFINITE 'NO' TO BN
There has been intense speculation that Jui Meng had been approached by his former party and asked to rejoin the BN. He said it was "only natural" that the other side would want to approach him, but reiterated his commitment to the reform movement in Malaysia.
He also shared some insight on how life was "on the other side of the fence" since joining the PKR four years ago at the invitation of Anwar Ibrahim, whom he said had offered him a "very high position".
"It was not politics ala BN but politics ala PR, politics ala reformasi. It was a whirlwind time. It was a time of great challenges, it was a time I pushed myself and for a while, I thought I was 40 years old ago," said Jui Meng.
"It is only natural (for offers to be made), but the answer is a definite 'no'," he said.
Malaysia Chronicle
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