Tian Chua not going for PKR veep post, but will run in GE15

 

Tian Chua said he will defend the post of Batu division head and focus on preparing for the next general election.

PETALING JAYA: PKR vice-president Tian Chua says he is not defending the post he has been holding since the formation of the party in 1999 to “cool the temperatures” in the party brought by the feverish race for positions in the elections due in May.

However, he insisted that he was not quitting politics and would be defending the post of Batu division chief.

“I was among the four vice-presidents but, as we know, three of them have left.

“I am the only incumbent left, but I am making way to avoid the party from facing a tough election in May.

“As you can see, temperatures are rising in the party as the elections are nearing. This is not good with the next general election down the corner,” he told FMT when contacted.

The other vice-presidents were Nurul Izzah Anwar, who resigned in 2018 from the post but remained as a member; Zuraida Kamaruddin, who left to join Bersatu after the Sheraton Move in 2020; and Xavier Jayakumar, who opted out to become an independent MP aligned to Perikatan Nasional (PN) last year.

Tian Chua said he would most likely be contesting the Batu seat, which he had won in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.

He failed to defend the seat at the last polls after he was disqualified. His nomination was rejected due to a RM2,000 fine from a court case that he had paid in 2010.

“I am now focusing on developing the grassroots support to prepare for GE15, which will definitely be held in the next six months. We have very little time and I hope PKR members will realise that the general election is more important,” he said.

He said PKR leaders should realise that stopping Umno and Barisan Nasional should be their main focus and not fighting for positions in the party.

“We must remember that the next election will see a crowded field, with many new entrants. So we need to strengthen our grassroots to face the new challenge.”

According to party sources, there is a move to get rid of leaders aligned to its former deputy president, Azmin Ali, who was behind the fall of Pakatan Harapan (PH) after the Sheraton Move.

Azmin left the party to align himself with PN and later joined Bersatu.

Last year, Tian Chua was accused of making moves for Azmin to rejoin PKR.

However, he denied it saying that it was “baseless and ridiculous” and not up to him to decide on the return of those who had left the party. - FMT