CAMERON POLLS | PKR vice-president Tian Chua has issued an apology on behalf of his party for “unintended careless statements” that may have offended the Orang Asli community.

As Chua stressed, PKR upholds the principles of freedom of association and expression, including the right of Orang Asli tok batin (village chiefs) and the community to support any political party to advance their interests.

“On the same principle, ketua kampung, community leaders or civil servants in general are free to vote according to their conscience. 

"Federal funding or appointments should not confine or restrict the recipients from freely choosing their political affiliation,” he said in a statement today.

Though Chua did not make explicit mention of the offending remarks, his statement follows the public outrage over PKR senator Bob Manolan Mohd saying that tok batin in Cameron Highlands could lose their salaries if they do not back Pakatan Harapan in the coming by-election.

Bob Manolan later clarified that he meant the village chiefs should not be involved with Umno while receiving an allowance from Putrajaya due to a conflict of interest.

However, he did not address his comment on depriving the tok batin of their posts or salaries, which was caught in an audio recording.

Several tok batin had also told Malaysiakini that they were outraged by Bob Manolan’s remarks.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng assured yesterday that tok batin will continue to receive their salaries regardless of their political affiliation. 

In his statement, Chua also stressed that PKR does not endorse coercion or enticement as a means to garner votes, and urged the party's leaders to be more careful and sensitive of public sentiment.

They should also be mindful of the laws during the Cameron Highlands by-election campaign, he said, while expressing hope to move on from the incident.

"I hope all the rhetorical polemics will end here. 

"Let’s focus our debate on issues of public concern, and use a fair platform to compete healthily in this by-election to advance the progress of the nation,” he said.