Tian Chua welcomes Anwar’s call for PKR veterans to return

PKR information chief Ginie Lim shared a photo on Facebook, showing herself alongside former party vice-presidents Tian Chua and Dr Xavier Jayakumar at the party's national congress in Melaka. Tian Chua, a founding leader of PKR who was dismissed in 2023, expressed his support for party president Anwar Ibrahim's call to have party veterans return.

Tian Chua acknowledged Anwar's message and indicated that the decision to rejoin the party rested with Anwar, who would decide on reinstating his membership. Tian Chua, who was expelled from PKR in 2022 for contesting the Batu parliamentary seat as an independent, won the seat in the 2022 general election as a Pakatan Harapan candidate.

During his keynote speech at the congress, Anwar apologized for any perceived marginalization of party veterans and urged them to return to PKR. Tian Chua emphasized that despite past disagreements, PKR remains an essential political force in multiracial Malaysia and that the party continued to suffer from identity politics. He also noted that PKR's grassroots support and election machinery had weakened over the years, and urged everyone to "get back to work".

Dr Xavier Jayakumar, another former party vice-president, was present at the congress and hoped for Anwar to reach out to other former leaders.