Politics

GE15: Tian Chua signed SD to back Anwar as PM even before his nomination, says lawyer

KUALA LUMPUR: Former PKR vice-president Tian Chua signed a statutory declaration two weeks ago backing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the prime ministerial candidate if Pakatan Harapan (PH) takes over Putrajaya after the 15th General Election (GE15).

However, at that time, Anwar was not aware of Tian Chua's intentions to contest as an independent candidate in Batu.

Tian Chua's lawyer, Gurmukh Singh, told this to the New Straits Times today after the PH candidate for Batu, P. Prabakaran, alleged that Tian Chua was contesting for the seat independently to prevent Anwar from becoming the prime minister.

Gurmukh said Tian Chua had issued a 24-hour ultimatum for Prabakaran to retract his statement and issue a public apology.

"Otherwise, we will lodge a police report against Prabakaran, and if necessary, we will also file a formal complaint with the Election Commission.

"Tian Chua only wants to serve the public, and he does not want to demoralise other candidates unnecessarily," he said.

The 10-cornered fight in Batu turned bitter when Tian Chua decided to contest independently against his party's will to wrest the seat from incumbent, Prabakaran.

Tian Chua previously served as Batu MP for two terms between 2008 and 2018, and secured both victories under the PKR ticket.

However, he was disqualified from defending the Batu seat in 2018 due to a RM2,000 fine imposed on him by the Shah Alam High Court.

Consequently, Tian Chua and PKR threw their support behind Prabakaran, who contested as an independent candidate, leading the latter to win Batu by 13,687 votes in 2018. Prabakaran later formally joined PKR.

Tian Chua has returned to Batu as an independent candidate in GE15 since the High Court, in 2019, said he was eligible to contest elections.

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