KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Pakatan Rakyat may already be preparing for a by-election but PKR’s Chua Tian Chang has stubbornly insisted that he is still the Batu MP.
“I am the Batu MP. There is no confusion,” he told The Malaysian Insider over the phone this morning.
Speaking in a calm and steady voice, Chua said that if the prosecutors wanted to continue to press charges, they could still appeal yesterday’s High Court decision.
“Otherwise, the issue is very clear. The judge said he was reviewing the earlier sentence so that there would be no by-election as it would be detrimental to public interest.
“Those who are not happy can appeal the decision in a higher court,” he said.
He added that he was still waiting for Justice Datuk Ghazali Cha to prepare his written judgement.
“Whatever the amount (of the fine) he finally writes out, it should reflect his intention that there should be no by-election in Batu.
“This means, I am an MP,” he said.
Chua, popularly referred to as Tian Chua, had his original fine of RM3,000 in default of six months’ jail reduced to RM2,000 in default of two months’ jail in his appeal to the High Court here over the charge of biting a police officer during a protest in 2007.
Just as the PKR loyalist was about to celebrate the decision, however, questions were raised over whether the reduction in the fine was enough to allow him to keep his Batu seat.
Article 48 of the Federal Constitution states that an MP is disqualified if he is convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than RM2,000.
The Election Commission (EC) said it would study Ghazali’s judgement first before deciding on whether to declare a by-election in Batu.
Pakatan Rakyat parties, meanwhile, are preparing for a possible by-election in the mixed urban seat of over 70,000 voters.
DAP chairman and lawyer Karpal Singh said that since the judge had fixed the fine at RM2,000, Chua was as good as disqualified.
PKR elections director Fuziah Salleh said Chua’s fate had been decided by a “one-sen judgement” for if the RM2,000 fine was reduced by one sen to RM1,999.99, the Batu MP would be let off the hook.
Chua, however, maintains that there was no need to raise alarm over the issue.
He added that unlike what was reported, he had yet to settle the RM2,000 fine.
“I had just agreed to transfer the bail money as payment for the fine. There was no payment made yesterday,” he said.
He said the consent for transfer was made so that he would not have to spend the night in lock-up yesterday.
“It is just a procedural thing. There is nothing to worry about; that since I have paid my fine, I am doomed,” he said.
Chua added that he would not make the actual payment until the judge issues the official court order and written judgement.
“Basically as it stands now, there is no by-election,” he insisted.
Chua won the long-time Barisan Nasional stronghold against Gerakan’s Lim Si Pin with a 9,455 majority in Election 2008.
