But the move was also a very unkind cut for reformist activist Tian Chua – just a week later, he was called a traitor (pengkhianat) and manhandled in front of the PKR headquarters here.
The PKR vice-president, who was hit by water bottles thrown by some in the angry group of people, was accused of being a member of the faction of then PKR leader Mohamed Azmin Ali, who led an exodus of several MPs, causing the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government.
The March 1, 2020 incident occurred after the Sheraton Move and after Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned as prime minister on Feb 24. That sealed the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government after just 22 months in power.
Azmin was later appointed as a senior minister in Muhyiddin Yassin’s Cabinet and is now a PPBM member while Tian Chua faded away from active politics.
Despite the criticism and brickbats, the 57-year-old Tian Chua remained loyal to PKR; he did not join PPBM or any other party.
He said today this was because he had been elected as vice-president by his party members. He intends to stay in the party to fight for democracy.
“I have forgiven those who threw bottles at me. They may have been misled by rumours and agitated by people who misled them,” he said in an interview with FMT.
Tian Chua, who was charged with biting a policeman’s hand in 2007, said his generation of activists who fought for reform in the late 90s still held to the idealism and principles that the party was built on.
“We support the party’s struggle for fairness, inclusivity and to be a multiethnic political force,” he added.
He said PKR had changed the landscape of Malaysian politics in the last general election.
“We broke the single party mould. In 2018, we and others created an open political structure. People complained it was a bit messy but we managed to achieve a balanced political power (with different parties in one coalition),” he said.
Now, he said, the nation had to move up to the second level which was to build healthy political discourse.
“Democracy is not only about voting, who your representatives are and what they are doing. This is still a superficial level.”
The former Batu MP said people should work to build a strong democracy and a deeply-rooted free press with citizens given the right to speak and the executive respecting that right and “not viewing it as seditious or intimidating people to keep quiet”.
“This is the process we have to go through. We have just passed the first step, that is, to break the monopoly of a single political party.”
Perikatan Nasional, an accidental coalition
Tian Chua said the creation of Perikatan Nasional was accidental and that it was a “transition” government.
“There is no majority (government) now and politicians are at each other’s throats,” he said.
One of the reasons for the present situation, he said, was that political parties were run by the older generation “burdened by prejudices about each other”.
Due to that, he said, the younger generation had to be more active in politics and push for a “deeper level of democracy”, focusing on nation building.
Tian Chua, who now runs the multiethnic NGO Pertubuhan Daya Masyarakat Malaysia (DAYA), said the PN government had imposed a state of emergency against the wishes of the people.
“Parliament is not open and so politicians can’t debate and air the views of their constituents. There are only Facebook lives and talk shows,” he said.
Asked if he was still Azmin’s man despite being in PKR, he said: “All this is too simplistic. At one time, I was known as Anwar Ibrahim’s man, and then as Azmin’s man.”
He said people should look at the content of the issues he raised instead of labelling him a supporter of Anwar or Azmin.
“I have spoken up on the economy, freedom of speech and other matters during PH’s time in power and also now. What does that say?”