By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — The secretive Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) is now quietly preparing for the next election by recruiting potential candidates and identifying seats to contest, but denies it’s behind the spate of PKR defections.
“We are building a strong support base and we will give both PR and BN a good run for their money,” said its vice-president Huan Cheng Guan in an interview with The Malaysian Insider recently.
Huan was a former Gerakan vice-president who joined the PCM in December, six months after he was suspended by the Barisan Nasional (BN) party for criticising its leaders.
He assumed the role of PCM’s de facto spokesman soon after joining the party and has become more prominent than its president Tang Weng Chew.
PCM, said Huan, is eyeing at least two parliamentary seats and five state seats in Penang.
“We can’t contest all. We are not like other political parties with strong financial support. We are on our own, all our leaders are working or running their own small business, we don’t have big corporate figures supporting us,”
“We are also looking at the Batu constituency, in case a by-election is called. We will seriously consider fielding our candidate there,” said Huan.
PKR’s Batu MP Tian Chua was sentenced recently to six months jail and fined RM 3,000 after he was found guilty of biting a policeman. He will be disqualified if he loses an appeal.
In Sarawak the party is now represented in the state assembly after the Ngemah assemblyman Gabriel Adit Demong quit PKR to join PCM.
The party is making inroads into rural Sarawak, after a successful launch of the state’s chapter last January, said Huan. The state’s election must be held by the middle of next year.
“We give them autonomy to run the party in Sarawak. They are independent of the headquarters in Semenanjung unlike PKR, the Sarawakians don’t like to be dictated from here,” said Huan.
Huan claimed that thousands have applied to join PCM since then, but did not give the exact figure.
Its 15 central committee members meet almost every week at their headquarters in Chai Leng Park, Butterworth.
PCM was set up quietly by a group of friends in Penang after Election 2008 but it gained popularity when MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat last year accused his deputy Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek of being behind the party.
Recently, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also alleged that the PCM along with Malaysian Ambassador to the United States Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis were behind the attempts to lure PKR lawmakers to defect.
Huan dismissed the allegation that PCM is the tool for BN to split votes or to break Pakatan Rakyat (PR) via defections.
“Why should I do that if I can fight and win on my own? In Malaysia, politics is now being monopolised, we want to open up the space, and competition is always good for the people,” said Huan.
He said rumours of PCM being behind the defections emerged because of his past working relationship with some of the PKR MPs.
In the 1990s Huan was an aide to the then Penang Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Saat who was an ally to Anwar.
He was also the Penang Gerakan Youth chief and Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng was his deputy.
“They are all my friends, Tee Beng, Zahrain. In PCM we treat everyone as our friend, whether they are in DAP, Gerakan or PKR, we all must learn to appreciate friendship and look beyond politics,” he said.
Huan added that he is also aware of the perception that the PCM is backed financially by Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
“The only link the party has with Tiong is me, I am still working as the executive secretary of BBC which Tiong is the president, but we are not getting any money from Tiong. He didn’t even know about the party when it was set up,” Huan told The Malaysian Insider.
PCM’s major concern said Huan is national unity, which he said both BN and PR have failed to promote.
“One thing very important is unity. We have been together for so long since before independence. Malaysia is one big family,” said Huan.
No comments:
Post a Comment