Batu by-election: BN nervous, says PAS' Khalid

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad today rubbished talk of a rift between DAP and its Pakatan Rakyat allies over the possible disqualification of Batu MP Tian Chua for his 'cop biting' conviction.

 

The speculations stemmed from DAP top guns Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh's statements that Tian Chua can be disqualified as MP due to the RM2,000 fine slapped on him by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Thursday for biting a police personnel three years ago.

 

Speaking at a fund-raising dinner for Batu PKR in Kuala Lumpur, the PAS elected representative joked that some quarters had even alleged that Lim and Karpal “don't like Tian Chua".

Khalid revealed further that he had put Selangor speaker and DAP leader Teng Chang Kim, who was also at the dinner, on the spot over the matter.

 

“I asked him, why is the DAP saying that Tian Chua is no longer an MP?”

Khalid, however, assured the audience that he is confident that Lim and Karpal’s remarks on the matter was nothing but a matter of strategy.

 

"Kit Siang and Karpal are trying to show that BN is afraid," he said.

 

"Even in such an obvious case, where the law can be interpreted to disqualify Chua, Umno doesn't dare to press their case."

BN's flip-flop

BN's fear stems from the dwindling support for the coalition in Hulu Selangor and the loss in Sibu, he asserted.

 

The fear, in turn, has triggered another BN 'flip-flop' in allowing the matter to slide despite what he claimed was the coalition’s engineered attempt to remove Chua from his parliamentary seat.

Earlier today, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz urged all quarters to hold to the decision made by Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Ghazali Cha.

Ghazali decided to reduce the six-month jail and RM3,000 fine imposed by a lower court on Chua to a fine of RM2,000 to avoid a by-election for the Batu parliamentary seat.

 

VIDEOS

BN afraid of Batu by-election l 8.58 mins

Tian Chua: I'm still Batu MP l 9.40 mins