KUALA LUMPUR – His eyes lit up, and his lips curled into a smile.
“I still clearly remember this picture, but interestingly, I have never had it with me,” Chua Tian Chang said as he kept his eyes trained on a photo shown to him by The Vibes during an exclusive interview at his office here.
The image in question was of him famously sitting in the middle of the road to block a water cannon truck during a mass rally in 1998 following Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking from the cabinet.
The historic event, which saw thousands of Malaysians converging on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, was considered the beginning of the Reformasi movement, which pressed for radical reforms that are now synonymous with PKR – and Chua was the face of it.
The photo was making rounds on social media in the hours following his decision to file his nomination on Saturday to contest in the Batu constituency in a 10-cornered fight.
Kalau aku jadi Tian Chua pun aku tanding bebas kot. Last election tak dapat tanding sebab SPR buat salah, pastu seat kau kena bagi kat calon bebas entah sapa-sapa. PRU15, kena sideline dengan presiden parti sendiri dgn alasan bagi chance dengan org muda sedangkan dia sendiri tua. pic.twitter.com/UN9Y8bulgd
— Datuk Jahat Hensem (@datukhensem) November 5, 2022
He will face, among others, PKR’s own candidate and the incumbent MP, P. Prabakaran.
Now facing the axe from his party, Chua, more fondly known as Tian Chua, said his decision to contest in the election was to keep alive the Reformasi movement, a spirit that will always remain with him regardless of which platform he stands on.
“Yes, the party definitely represents that (spirit of Reformasi). But for me, even with me contesting (against PKR), I would never deviate myself from this principle,” he said.
His comments came after PKR president Anwar expressed his disappointment in Chua’s decision to throw his hat into the ring to run against a candidate from his own party – claiming that it is not what a reformist would have done.
Chua was officially dropped from contesting in this election when PKR announced on November 28 that Prabakaran will be defending Batu, the seat which the former won twice in 2008 and 2013.
He was disqualified from taking part in the 2018 general election on technical grounds and agreed to back Prabakaran, who initially entered the polls back then on an independent ticket.
‘I embody Reformasi spirit’
Responding to claims that he has abandoned the Reformasi movement by going against PKR, Chua said this principle is not exclusive to any specific party.
He pointed out that he had himself been an advocate for the reform agenda long before he became a member of PKR.
“I came from an activist background, with no political party. My embracement of this value started from the days when I was not aligned with any outfit.
“In fact, at that time, we used to think that we didn’t want to get involved with any party, but to just continue campaigning against government misconduct.”
The firebrand politician said he later joined PKR as he felt the need to strengthen a newly-formed opposition party with a multiracial outlook, but which has yet to institutionalise the reform agenda.
However, he noted that while PKR was the first political outfit to properly champion the Reformasi movement, many others similarly subscribe to the same principle.
“We (PKR) have gone through the process, not just me, but many others. We were able to structure many of these progressive ideas into the party. But that doesn’t mean any party has the monopoly of reformation.
“Whether people are inside or outside the party, they can subscribe to this idea. You can see that it has been manifested through non-government organisations and people-initiated movements like Bersih.
“Of course, I’m not denying that PKR played an important role in mobilising (for street rallies), but thousands of people who participated had the same common goal without subscribing to any political party,” he said.
Chua, however, lamented that many of the younger PKR leaders today, including Prabakaran, do not truly understand the struggle of the movement.
“He still needs to learn about what Reformasi is and internalise reform’s culture, principle, and values – which emerged not purely by ‘sloganising’, wearing clothes of certain colours, or submitting to a certain leadership.
“That is not the essence of it. The embodiment of this struggle is where we aspire to see democracy, (fight for) human rights issues and (ensure) a transparent government. These are sophisticated things that he needs to learn a lot more.” – The Vibes, November 7, 2022
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