Prabakaran pledges alliance to Tian Chua, says he will never join BN

KUALA LUMPUR: Batu independent candidate P. Prabakaran said he will never join Barisan Nasional (BN) if he wins his seat at the 14th General Elections (GE14).
The 22-year-old law student, who is new to Malaysian politics said he will channel the voters' support back to PKR vice-president Tian Chua, who was disqualified from contesting.
"I am very sure ... I will not join BN," he said when asked whether he can give assurance that he will not join BN.
He spoke to reporters on his first political ceramah with PKR leaders tlast night at his constituency here.
Admitting he hadn't harboured big hopes on winning the Batu parliamentary seat, Prabakaran now says he stands a better chance of winning with Pakatan Harapan's (PH) help.
"This is a golden opportunity for me to build my platform and I feel good (about this)," he said.
However, when asked whether he would join PH as a member after elections, Prabakaran said he will consider it since there are people from his close circle encouraging him to join PH.
"There were no terms and conditions. People are encouraging me to join PH," he said, adding that he would speak about it after the elections.
He said that the causes he will be fighting for are similar to the ones with PH and he will ensure that issues raised by voters are addressed with the assistance of Tian Chua, who pledged to help and guide Prabakaran in his responsibilities.
Prabakaran, who will be using the key symbol as his logo, was endorsed as a candidate by PH following Tian Chua's disqualification and the court's dismissal of his suit in challenging it yesterday.
The almost 300 people gathered at the ceramah welcomed him with applause and cheers when he arrived.
Tian Chua said he admired Prabakaran's courage when he filed his nomination papers to contest in GE14.
"I asked him why do you want to stand for election. He only said that he was interested to join politics and see how does it feel to be part of a democratic process," said Tian Chua.
"This is a young person who is innocent," he said, urging the crowd to pledge their support to the "key to Putrajaya".
He added that PKR had approached all three candidates – PAS' Azhar Yahya, independent Datuk V M Panjamothy and Prabakaran.
"I'm not sure if he will be ready to take the challenges and burdens of an elected representative.
"But I will stay and help him. I will not leave Batu. I am committed to the Batu constituency and I shall return.
"They can use any dirty tactics but cannot stop me from fighting," Tian Chua said.