'Honesty is part of reform' - Tian Chua urges PKR to own up to unrealistic promises
Mastura Malak
Published: Aug 24, 2026 10:07 AM
Updated: 5:05 PM
PKR and Pakatan Harapan once promised a “new dawn” for Malaysia, pledging sweeping reforms if the coalition came to power.
But with many of those promises still unmet, detractors have accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration of falling short of the high hopes it once inspired.
Reflecting on the growing disappointment, expelled former PKR deputy president Chua Tian Chang, who is seeking a return to the Anwar-led party, said there must be acknowledgement that some of the reform pledges were overly ambitious and difficult to fulfil.
For him, an honest admission of those shortcomings would not amount to surrendering the reform agenda, but should instead be seen as part of the reform process itself.
“Reform also includes being honest in telling voters that some of the promises that were made are not realistic, and that mistakes were made. That is a mistake we have to accept, and we have to show the spirit (of reform).
“We promised to abolish tolls, but abolishing tolls is not the ultimate goal. In the end, what we want to achieve is to reduce the cost of living.
Published: Aug 24, 2026 10:07 AM
Updated: 5:05 PM
PKR and Pakatan Harapan once promised a “new dawn” for Malaysia, pledging sweeping reforms if the coalition came to power.
But with many of those promises still unmet, detractors have accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration of falling short of the high hopes it once inspired.
Reflecting on the growing disappointment, expelled former PKR deputy president Chua Tian Chang, who is seeking a return to the Anwar-led party, said there must be acknowledgement that some of the reform pledges were overly ambitious and difficult to fulfil.
For him, an honest admission of those shortcomings would not amount to surrendering the reform agenda, but should instead be seen as part of the reform process itself.
“Reform also includes being honest in telling voters that some of the promises that were made are not realistic, and that mistakes were made. That is a mistake we have to accept, and we have to show the spirit (of reform).
“We promised to abolish tolls, but abolishing tolls is not the ultimate goal. In the end, what we want to achieve is to reduce the cost of living.
“So we have to find another way and be more creative, rather than going back to the promise and saying, ‘We cannot do it this term, so we will do it next term.’ That is a lie, and that is also something that is not realistic.
“So, there are more such matters which need to be updated, especially after it is included in the system, the state of budget is known, the state of the nation’s earning is known, and change or take on a reformasi that is more effective and realistic compared to promises which we made while we were on the streets,” Chua said on “Explain Sikit Kini”, a podcast produced by KiniTV.
Popularly known as Tian Chua, he also argued that Anwar should not be singled out since the responsibility for carrying out reforms also rested with every minister in the Madani government.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
“It is the responsibility of every minister to see how they can deliver reforms through their own authority and by improving their own performance.
“It also depends on PKR members and its middle-ranking leaders to work towards achieving the reforms that we promised,” he said on the podcast.
‘Make the most of the time you have left’
Chua was expelled from PKR after contesting as an independent candidate in the Batu parliamentary seat in the last general election.
However, he reportedly attended the party congress in Malacca on Aug 15, where Anwar apologised and appealed to former party leaders and activists to return to PKR in his policy speech.
Meanwhile, Chua said the PKR leadership must find more creative ways to deliver on its promises to the people, particularly in easing the cost of living.
“It is the responsibility of every minister to see how they can deliver reforms through their own authority and by improving their own performance.
“It also depends on PKR members and its middle-ranking leaders to work towards achieving the reforms that we promised,” he said on the podcast.
‘Make the most of the time you have left’
Chua was expelled from PKR after contesting as an independent candidate in the Batu parliamentary seat in the last general election.
However, he reportedly attended the party congress in Malacca on Aug 15, where Anwar apologised and appealed to former party leaders and activists to return to PKR in his policy speech.
Meanwhile, Chua said the PKR leadership must find more creative ways to deliver on its promises to the people, particularly in easing the cost of living.
He said the government should make the most of the remainder of its term to advance the reform agenda, rather than continue making promises that may prove unrealistic or difficult to fulfil.
What’s the ultimate objective of reforms?
The podcast also featured writer and former Malaysiakini chief editor Fathi Aris Omar, who concurred with Chua.
Fathi pointed to the debate over calls to abolish the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA), particularly to give university students greater political freedom, as an example.
He said the push to abolish UUCA should not come at the expense of the broader objective of strengthening excellence in universities.
Fathi Aris Omar
“Sometimes we become too legalistic and technical.
“We forget whether what we want is to give university students political freedom through the abolition of UUCA, or whether we want to build excellent universities. If we want to build excellent universities, abolishing UUCA alone is not enough.
“So, what is our actual context? In the context of UUCA, NGOs, activists, writers, and sometimes political party members forget that our fundamental issue is education.
“How do we improve excellence in higher education? And this is also related to how our standards at primary and secondary schools have declined,” he added.
“Sometimes we become too legalistic and technical.
“We forget whether what we want is to give university students political freedom through the abolition of UUCA, or whether we want to build excellent universities. If we want to build excellent universities, abolishing UUCA alone is not enough.
“So, what is our actual context? In the context of UUCA, NGOs, activists, writers, and sometimes political party members forget that our fundamental issue is education.
“How do we improve excellence in higher education? And this is also related to how our standards at primary and secondary schools have declined,” he added.
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