SHAH ALAM – Chua Tian Chang, the former PKR vice-president sacked for contesting as an independent in the 15th general election, does not have a special privilege to appeal his dismissal through party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
PKR number two Rafizi Ramli said Chua should go through the proper channel, the party’s appeals board, as per procedure for all other members.
Doing otherwise, Rafizi said, will set a bad precedent and is unfair to other members previously sacked by the party.
”If you go straight to the president to appeal, he will feel guilty and it will be unfair to others who have been disciplined,” he said at a press conference after the Selangor PKR election convention here today.
“We will give other party members the wrong signal that there is a double standard if this particular person (Chua) does not have to go through the appeals board.”
Rafizi was commenting on Chua’s statement earlier today that he would leave it up entirely to Anwar to decide his fate in the party, and that he has no intention of appealing through PKR as he acknowledged breaching the party’s rules by contesting in the election.
“I can’t write an appeal to say I didn’t do anything wrong. From day one when I contested, I was prepared to be disciplined. Only the president has the power to decide whether he will give clemency,” Chua had said.
“I will only appeal to the president in the spirit of reconsideration and inclusivity, which has been promoted by him and the (unity) government."
The 59-year-old PKR veteran was sacked from the party a week ago, but said he has yet to receive any official letter from the party on the matter.
Rafizi said while it is Chua's prerogative to appeal directly through Anwar, he should also be fair to other party members.
“My advice is, go through the appeals board, and if you have any other appeals to make, then that’s up to you.”
The economy minister added that Chua’s argument that he would only appeal to Anwar is moot as the appeals board would also eventually need to go through the party’s central leadership council, chaired by the president, for a decision.
“The board will present their report to the council, before a final decision is made,” he said.
In the 2018 election, Chua, then a two-term incumbent for the Batu parliamentary constituency, was disqualified from taking part on grounds of technicality, with PKR later backing P. Prabakaran to contest under the party's banner.
In the recently concluded 15th general election, Chua tried to wrest back his former federal constituency, running as an independent against Prabakaran.
Prabakaran won by a majority of more than 22,000 votes, while Chua lost his election deposit. – The Vibes, January 14, 2023
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