Batu Parliament: All eyes on Prabakaran, whether he will be fielded again!

KUALA LUMPUR: The Batu parliamentary constituency, long considered a stronghold for Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in Kuala Lumpur, is poised to become one of the most fiercely contested hot seats in the upcoming general election. In the 2022 general election, current MP P. Prabakaran won back the seat for a second consecutive term with a massive majority of 22,241 votes.

However, in last year’s PKR divisional elections, Prabakaran failed to win the PKR Batu division chairmanship, losing to lawyer Asheeq Ali by 153 votes. Since then, rumours have been swirling about whether Prabakaran would be given another chance to contest the Batu Parliament in the 16GE, as Asheeq Ali is now the division chairman.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, Asheeq Ali recently resigned from PKR, citing the party’s loss of direction and deviation from its original aims. Although there has been no official statement on his next move, speculation is rife that he might be joining Bersama, the party mooted by Rafizi Ramli.

All eyes are now on Prabakaran to see whether he will be replaced by another candidate from PKR or fielded again for a third consecutive term by the PKR leadership.

The Batu seat had a colourful political history. Historically held by PKR’s Tian Chua since 2008, the seat was the subject of a series of political manoeuvres and legal disqualifications in subsequent years, leading to the unexpected rise of Prabakaran. Prabakaran originally contested and won the seat as an independent candidate in the 2018 general elections, before formally joining PKR. In 2022, he successfully retained the seat under the PKR banner again despite challenges from Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional, and several independents, including former Batu MP Tian Chua.

The Ramanan Factor and the MITRA Connection

Adding fuel to the fire, whether Prabakaran would be fielded again, are the reasons behind the removal of Prabakaran as chairman of MITRA, the government’s arm to transform the Malaysian Indian community.

Anwar Ibrahim abruptly revoked Prabakaran’s appointment as chairman of MITRA and placed the unit under the Human Resources Ministry, led by Ramanan Ramakrishnan, the current MP for Sungai Buloh and Minister of Human Resources.

While Ramanan has served Sungai Buloh effectively, even donating his entire ministerial salary to local temples and places of worship, reports suggest he will not defend his current seat and is looking for a safer one. In 2022 GE, Ramanan won the seat on his first attempt, defeating Khairy Jamaluddin of UMNO-Barisan Nasional, with a majority of 2,693 votes. In that contest, Ramanan polled 50,943 votes. However, his challenger, Khairy Jamaluddin from BN, polled 48,250 votes while the PN candidate polled 29,060 votes. Therefore, the votes against Ramanan or Pakatan Harapan were a massive 26,367, suggesting the seat may not be safe for PH again. It is clear that Ramanan won Sungai Buloh because of a split in opposition votes.

Therefore, PKR sources indicate that Ramanan is looking for a safer alternative seat and that his eyes are on Batu, a move that could effectively displace Prabakaran.

Compounding the intrigue, a local online news portal recently published a report suggesting that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is also considering contesting in Batu, giving up Tambun in Perak.

Emergence of Rafizi Ramli’s Bersama may favour Prabakaran

The political landscape in Batu is further complicated by intense internal friction within PKR. Asheeq Ali, who resigned from PKR, is expected to join Rafizi Ramli’s Bersama party and may be fielded against Prabakaran in Batu. With the emergence of Bersama, PKR’s leadership is under pressure to ensure that the party’s current parliamentary seats are not lost, especially to Bersama. In that context, Prabakaran, who is still young and popular among the Batu voters, especially the Indian community, may be given another opportunity to contest in Batu.

Speculation is high that Rafizi’s Bersama party intends to aggressively target traditional PKR strongholds, particularly parliamentary and state seats previously won or contested by PKR. Given his local base and experience, Asheeq Ali is widely expected to be Bersama’s candidate for Batu if he joins the party.

With multiple factions angling for the seat, Prabakaran finds himself in a precarious position. Having served the Batu constituency for two consecutive terms, his supporters argue that his track record of dedicated and satisfactory service warrants a re-nomination.

The burning question remains: If PKR denies Prabakaran the ticket, will he gracefully accept the leadership’s decision and campaign for the party’s chosen candidate? Or will he return to his roots and trigger a massive split by contesting as an independent candidate?

If Prabakaran decides to revolt and run independently against a PKR heavyweight, the Batu constituency is guaranteed to transform into a high-stakes, explosive multi-cornered battlefield in the next general election.