Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua (; born 21 December 1963), is a
Malaysian politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who served as Special Advisor to the
Minister of Works from March 2019 to February 2020 and
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Batu from March 2008 to May 2018. He is an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
and was a member of the
People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the
Pakatan Harapan
Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...
(PH) and formerly
Pakatan Rakyat
Pakatan Rakyat (PR; ) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP), and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Par ...
(PR) as well as
Barisan Alternatif (BA) coalitions. He was also a member of the
Parti Rakyat Malaysia
The Parti Rakyat Malaysia (abbreviation: PRM; English: ''Malaysian People's Party'') is a dormant political party in Malaysia. Founded on 11 November 1955 as Partai Ra'ayat, it is one of the older political parties in Malaysia and traces its p ...
(PRM). He served as Vice-President of PKR from the founding of PKR in April 1999 to July 2022 and Information Chief of PKR from April 2004 to March 2008 and Division Chief of Batu of PKR before July 2022.
Early life
Born in
Malacca
Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
on 21 December 1963, he was the eldest of four siblings. His father, Chua Neo Lai, is of Hakka descent and was a rice wholesaler. His late mother, Chan Yuet Chien, was a Chinese schoolteacher.
Chua was educated in Siang Lin Primary School and
Catholic High School, Melaka. He then studied Lower Six in Gajah Berang High School. In 1982, Tian went to continue his studies in Australia. He first studied Matriculation in South Sydney High School. After completing HSC, he got admitted into Agricultural Science in
Sydney University
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
. He said:
But in his third year, he switched to Philosophy at the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.
The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
. Australia in the 1980s was a hotbed for student activists. "My father had hoped I'd study law for good future prospects. But I became exposed to peace movements, environmental issues, and human rights situations around the world". He became an active student leader and was involved in student movement under the Network of Overseas Student Collectives (NOSCA) and Left Alliance. His mates included
Steven Gan
Steven Gan (; born 1962) is a Malaysian journalist known for co-founding and editing the political news website ''Malaysiakini'' (English: "Malaysia Today"), Malaysia's "first and only" independent news source.
In 2000, he was awarded the In ...
and Premesh Chandran, co-founders of news website
Malaysiakini
''Malaysiakini'' (English: "Malaysia Now") is an online news portal in Malaysia which was established in 1999. It is published in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil, and is among the most read news portals in Malaysia.
At the time of its ...
. Together, they protested against the imposition of university fees on foreign students started by
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...
's administration in 1985.
Chua had his first taste of arrest when he was locked up after a demonstration in Sydney. He was also recruited by
East Timor
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
then leader-in-exile, now president
Ramos Horta to help prepare newsletters.
Early career
Upon returning to
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
in 1990, he joined ''
Suara Rakyat Malaysia'' (SUARAM) in the campaign against
Internal Security Act (ISA). He also began to get involved in the labour movement in Malaysia. In 1992, he joined Hong Kong-based Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC), a regional labour research NGO.
After his contract in Hong Kong ended, he went for further studies in the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, The Netherlands. He graduated with Masters in Employment & Labour Studies. Tian again returned to Malaysia in 1996 and continued to pursue a trail of life as social activist.
In 1997, Tian was appointed the director of Labour Resource Centre (LRC). The centre was found in 1990 by a group of trade unionists and labour activists. He was also in the Board of SUARAM.
In 1998, SUARAM initiated a forum comprised NGOs and opposition parties known as Gagasan Demokrasi Rakyat Malaysia. The forum was officially launched during the saga of
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...
and Reformasi. Tian was elected the chairperson of the movement.
Reformasi and Detention under ISA
Chua was involved with the ''
Reformasi'' movement in
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
in 1999 due to the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim as Deputy Prime Minister. He became famous when images of him sitting defiantly in front of a police water cannon truck were splashed across the global media during the height of the movement.
Between 27 and 30 September 1999, Tian Chua and six other activists, including KeADILan leaders; Youth leader Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor,
Mohamed Azmin Ali
Mohamed Azmin bin Ali ( Jawi: محمد عزمين بن علي; born 25 August 1964) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the State Leader of the Opposition of Selangor and Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Hul ...
and Dr Badrul Amin Baharun; were arrested and as a result prevented from contesting in the
1999 general elections.
Further arrests were made on 10 April 2001 and those arrested were subsequently charged and in carcerated under the
Internal Security Act (ISA). They became known as the Reformasi 10.
At the Kamunting detention camp, Tian Chua kept himself busy by dabbling in his love for drawing and painting. He drew the insects that entered his cell and made over 100 Hari Raya and Chinese New Year cards for friends and family. He had much time to read including heavy tomes like Homer's Iliad, and learnt Thai, Norwegian, Arabic, French and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, which he has mostly forgotten now. Tian Chua spent two years in detention under the ISA and numerous times in police lock-ups for championing various causes since 1996.
Political involvement
In 1999, Tian Chua was invited to join the newly founded Parti Keadilan Nasional (KeADILan) headed by Dr
Wan Azizah
Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: وان عزيزة بنت وان إسماعيل; born 3 December 1952) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Spouse of the prime minister of Malaysia, Spouse of the Prime Minister of Mala ...
. In 2004, KeADILan merged with
Parti Rakyat Malaysia
The Parti Rakyat Malaysia (abbreviation: PRM; English: ''Malaysian People's Party'') is a dormant political party in Malaysia. Founded on 11 November 1955 as Partai Ra'ayat, it is one of the older political parties in Malaysia and traces its p ...
(PRM) and formed
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR; ), is a centre-left, reformist political party in Malaysia formed on 3 August 2003 through a merger of the party's predecessor, the National Justice Party, with the socialist Malaysian People's Party. The party's ...
(PKR). Tian Chua was appointed the Information Chief and was then elected the national vice-president of the party.
He has manned the PKR service centre in the heart of
Sentul since it was opened in 2004. Areas that came under his
Batu constituency include Sentul. The constituency has the most Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) public housing apartments and one of the highest rates of petty crime in the city. Tian Chua as a lawmaker himself later, had pledged not to change his ways:
In the
2008 general election (GE12), Tian Chua contested in the
Batu parliamentary constituency in
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
and won, defeating
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...
's
Lim Si Pin with a 9,455 majority, who is the son of
Lim Keng Yaik
Lim Keng Yaik (; 8 April 1939 – 22 December 2012) was a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician and former Minister of Energy, Water and Communications in the Cabinet of Malaysia, Malaysian cabinet. He was the third president of Parti Geraka ...
the former national president of
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (; abbrev: GERAKAN or less commonly as PGRM) is a liberal political party in Malaysia. Formed in 1968, Gerakan gained prominence in the 1969 general election when it defeated the ruling Alliance Party in Pen ...
(Gerakan). Tian Chua won for the second time in the Batu, Kuala Lumpur for the
2013 general election (GE13) defeating BN's Dominic Lau Hoe Chai with 13,284 majority.
Tian Chua was disqualified to contest and unable defend his Batu parliamentary seat in the
2018 general election (GE14) when his nomination was rejected due to a RM2,000 fine from a court case that he paid in 2010.
He instead endorsed one of the
independent candidates, 22-year-old law student
Prabakaran Parameswaran
Prabakaran a/l Parameswaran (born 8 February 1996) is a Malaysian politician and law student who has served as Chairman of the Special Committee of the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (MITRA) since February 2024 and the Member ...
who later won the seat and jointed PKR as the country's youngest parliamentarian. The High Court in 2019 declared that his GE14 disqualification was invalid and that he is eligible to contest future general elections.
Tian Chua was appointed as the Special Adviser to the
Minister of Works during the short ruling period of the
Pakatan Harapan
Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...
(PH) administration after GE14 from March 2019 until it collapse due to the
political crisis in 2020 in February.
Issues and controversies
Attacking, disobeying and insulting police cases
In a 2007 demonstration in front of the parliament, Tian Chua had bit a police constable's arm which had led to him being charged in 2009 under Section 332 of the Penal Code. He was convicted and sentenced to his six-month jail and RM3,000 fine but upon his appeal, the High Court had later reduced it to just a RM2,000 fine in 2010. The ruling enabled Tian Chua to keep his MP seat of Batu won in GE12 and even for him to retain it again in GE13. Somehow the 2010 court case judgement had caused Tian Chua's GE14 candidacy been rejected unexpectedly but the High Court had later overturned the disqualification and maintained his eligibility contesting future elections in 2019.
[
In 2012, Tian Chua was arrested at the Bersih 3.0 rally and was later detained of committing an offense of trespassing Police Training Centre (PULAPOL), a "Restricted Area". He was then charged, convicted and sentenced by the Sessions Court in 2014 to one-month's imprisonment and a RM1,000 fine for refusing a police order to leave the PULAPOL. After five years fighting for his case in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, he finally withdrew his appeal and was sent to jail in 2017.
In another 2014 incident, Tian Chua had insulted a policeman in front of a hotel where he was then charged for outraging the modesty of the police officer by using foul language and ordered by the court in 2017 to pay a total of RM3,000 following his conviction. Somehow again the High Court had later reduced the fine to RM2,000 while upheld his conviction.
]
Accusation of sedition
Following the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff
The 2013 Lahad Datu standoff, also known as the Lahad Datu incursion or Operation Daulat (), was a military conflict in Lahad Datu District, Lahad Datu, Malaysia. The conflict began on 11 February, when 235 militants arrived in Lahad Datu by bo ...
, Tian Chua commenting through his Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
hinted that the country standoff with the defunct-Sultanate of Sulu
The Sultanate of Sulu (; ; ) is a Sunni Muslim subnational monarchy in the Philippines, Republic of the Philippines that includes the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Zamboanga City and certain portions of Palawan in today's Philippines. H ...
throne claimants followers from the southern Philippines was staged by the Malaysian ruling government party of United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...
(UMNO), where he was then heavily criticised by the party politicians as well the public for his lacking of "sensitiveness" on the issue. Tian Chua was then asked by UMNO to withdraw his defamation remarks although he refused which led the case being brought to court. Through his defence statement in court, he denied making defamation words towards the party.
In 2014, Tian Chua agreed to withdraw his remarks, where the charges towards him was dropped soon thereafter. Attempts to appeal the case by the prosecution went unheeded by the court and he was finally cleared of sedition charge in 2016.
Election results
In popular culture
In 2009, Tian Chua took the lead role in a science fiction short film title
One Future
which depicted Malaysia as an Orwellian dystopia. The character's fate at the hands of the authorities in the film mirrors aspects of Tian Chua's own public life.
See also
* Batu (federal constituency)
Batu is a federal constituency in the Federal Territories of Malaysia, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that has been represented in the Dewan Rakyat since 1986.
The federal constituency was created in the 1984 redistribution and is ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chua, Tian Chang
1963 births
Living people
People from Malacca
Malaysian people of Hakka descent
Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent
Prisoners and detainees of Malaysia
Malaysian democracy activists
Former People's Justice Party (Malaysia) politicians
Independent politicians in Malaysia
University of New South Wales alumni
Malaysian MPs 2008–2013
Malaysian MPs 2013–2018