Can PH make ‘low-lying’ Tian Chua an asset for Selangor state polls?
FORMER PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang a.k.a. Tian Chua, is lying low for the time being.
Having recently been dropped from the party after taking on its chosen candidate for the Batu parliamentary constituency, Prabakaran Parameswaran, as an independent in the 15th General Election (GE15), Chua will not be involved with the state election for now.
A once popular and well-liked Batu MP, Chua was charged under Section 509 of the Penal Code and found guilty of outraging the modesty of a police officer by using foul language in March 2018, resulting in him being disqualified from contesting in the general election two months later.
For brief a stint between March 2019 and February 2020, he was the special advisor to the then Works Minister Baru Bian.
“I am trying to do some consultancy work to get myself some income,” he told FocusM. “Currently, I am also helping the Timor Leste government to develop some of their policies.”
Tian Chua (right) manages to catch up with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim while paying his last respect to the latter’s best buddy Abdullah Abdul Samad recently
Being pragmatic, Chua had earlier proposed the inclusion of UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi even before the formation of the unity government. His support for Zahid, however, was only by virtue of his capacity as the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman.
“The concept of unity government should, therefore, be inclusive to overcome ethnic and ideological sectarianism,” justified the former PKR president.
“I based my support of Zahid’s appointment as a cabinet minister solely on Zahid’s strengths, especially in his ability to mediate between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the civil service as well as the conservative segments of the government.”
While he supported Anwar’s concept of Malaysia Madani as “a good initiative,” Chua reckoned that the Madani concept has to be a bottom-up initiative.
“It has to be a movement by the people to realise values incorporated in the Madani administration, for example, compassion, sustainability and good governance, among others. Without internalising these values in the society, Madani will become purely a greeting slogan of news broadcasts.”
Chua had also pointed out that despite the strong opposition from within BN towards working with PH, it was Zahid who remained firm in his stand. When asked if he agreed that Zahid should be given immunity from prosecution, Chua said that one has to be pragmatic.
“By excluding the `court cluster’, it does not necessarily mean a cleaner government,” he opined. “Zahid cannot escape from the court proceedings since the judiciary is an independent body and he has every opportunity to prove his innocence in court.”
The Melaka-born Chua, 60, reminded his former comrades that if there is enough political will to weed out corruption, genuine reforms have “to systematically overhaul our governing institutions”.
In recent days, Chua has been invited by MUDA to share his experiences during the Reformasi period. He was one of the pioneers of the Reformasi movement in 1998. – April 28, 2023
Being pragmatic, Chua had earlier proposed the inclusion of UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi even before the formation of the unity government. His support for Zahid, however, was only by virtue of his capacity as the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman.
“The concept of unity government should, therefore, be inclusive to overcome ethnic and ideological sectarianism,” justified the former PKR president.
“I based my support of Zahid’s appointment as a cabinet minister solely on Zahid’s strengths, especially in his ability to mediate between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the civil service as well as the conservative segments of the government.”
While he supported Anwar’s concept of Malaysia Madani as “a good initiative,” Chua reckoned that the Madani concept has to be a bottom-up initiative.
“It has to be a movement by the people to realise values incorporated in the Madani administration, for example, compassion, sustainability and good governance, among others. Without internalising these values in the society, Madani will become purely a greeting slogan of news broadcasts.”
Chua had also pointed out that despite the strong opposition from within BN towards working with PH, it was Zahid who remained firm in his stand. When asked if he agreed that Zahid should be given immunity from prosecution, Chua said that one has to be pragmatic.
“By excluding the `court cluster’, it does not necessarily mean a cleaner government,” he opined. “Zahid cannot escape from the court proceedings since the judiciary is an independent body and he has every opportunity to prove his innocence in court.”
The Melaka-born Chua, 60, reminded his former comrades that if there is enough political will to weed out corruption, genuine reforms have “to systematically overhaul our governing institutions”.
In recent days, Chua has been invited by MUDA to share his experiences during the Reformasi period. He was one of the pioneers of the Reformasi movement in 1998. – April 28, 2023
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