KUALA LUMPUR – What started out as a mentor-protégé sort of relationship between former Batu MP Chua Tian Chang, or more commonly known as Tian Chua and his successor P. Prabakaran has now turned sour – arguably at a point of no return.
Speaking to The Vibes, the two leaders, who are currently understood to be scrambling for candidacy for the Batu constituency, levelled a series of accusations against each other on various matters.
This confirms information obtained by The Vibes of animosity between the two political figures in recent months – with things coming to a head after Prabakaran defeated Chua for the Batu PKR division chief post during the party’s internal polls earlier this year.
In a recent phone interview, Chua, who was disqualified from contesting in the last election due to technicality, tore into Prabakaran for his supposedly ungracious behaviour since securing the Batu parliamentary seat.
He alluded that the pair are no longer on friendly terms while revealing that much of his advice was not heeded by his successor.
“The point is, it is up to Prabakaran if he wants to be friendly to me.
“If he decides to go against me and not to take my advice, I can’t do anything. But that would be the most regrettable thing,” he told The Vibes.
Any individual who is decent enough would be grateful to those who have supported them. That is very basic. I’m quite surprised he (Prabakaran) doesn’t show that.
Chua, who is a two-term Batu MP, was disqualified from taking part in the last election over a RM2,000 fine imposed against him in 2014. He and PKR later campaigned for Prabakaran, who was then contesting on an independent ticket to ensure Barisan Nasional’s defeat.
Just a few days after Pakatan Harapan (PH) secured the historic May 9 victory, Prabakaran joined PKR as an official member.
Chua said Prabakaran’s refusal to serve as his understudy means the latter would only lose out on his political experience, reminding him not to be short-sighted and that politics is “all about the long game”.
‘Only advice I got was to join Azmin’s camp’
When contacted, Prabakaran refuted Chua’s accusations of him not heeding his counsel, instead firing back at his predecessor for not providing any guidance since he took office.
He said he had never received any cooperation from Chua on various local issues concerning the rakyat, and that the latter’s team was constantly speaking ill of him (Prabakaran) behind his back.
“I had to learn to ride by myself. Probably the only one helping me was (former PKR Youth chief) Akmal Nasir. I discussed with Chua a couple of times about working together to solve some internal issues in the constituency, but I never received cooperation.
“So, what kind of advice is he talking about? I don’t remember any, other than to join (Datuk Seri) Mohamed Azmin Ali’s camp.
“He didn’t say it directly, but many of his team members came to me before the Sheraton Move. But I have always been a neutral politician, I’m not in anyone’s faction.”
Chua is a known ally to Azmin, who led a group of PKR MPs together with Bersatu in quitting PH in February 2020, effectively causing the collapse of the then ruling government.
“Maybe Chua is referring to advice about my political career. But I think mine is very stable, I know what I’m doing. You can ask any party members and they will say I’m one who takes advice. I’m very humble, I listen. Probably that’s why I don’t remember Chua giving me any.”
Asked what had led to their souring relationship, despite the pair working together during the 2018 election, Prabakaran said while he has no issues with Chua, he believes the latter feels threatened by him.
Dispute over election expenses
On a separate issue, Chua revealed to The Vibes initial difficulties in persuading Prabakaran to contest on behalf of him and PKR in the election, as the latter was hell-bent at the time of taking on PH.
This made it almost impossible to strike an agreement, Chua said, with the only condition set out then was for Prabakaran to join PKR in the event of victory – which the former said was also why he did not petition for re-election in the constituency after the results were out.
“We had to do all we can to persuade him. In fact, when I told him that I have to print new campaign materials to associate him with PH and asked for an agreement for him to repay once he is elected, he refused.
“I didn’t dare to push harder, and after the election, I didn’t pursue it anyway,” he said.
Responding to this, Prabakaran admitted that he had initially declined offers to contest for PKR as he was pushing for his own youth agenda, but changed his mind after various parties persuaded him to do so for the sake of national interest.
He also acknowledged Chua’s request to repay the election expenses but said he had to refuse the condition as he does not come from a wealthy family.
“He asked for half of my MP’s salary every month to pay those expenses. I said I cannot give anything as I don’t hail from a rich background. I told him if he feels this is a burden, I can back off (from contesting for PKR).
“I didn’t give any money because I don’t have any. He must remember that I’m contesting the seat for his party, helping his own party, PKR.” – The Vibes, September 30, 2022
