Tian Chua, who submitted his nomination papers on Saturday, said he had yet to hear officially from PKR on the matter.

“I don’t know, I haven’t received anything but I leave it to the party to decide,” he said when asked about the status of his membership.

He was speaking to reporters during a visit to Taman Wahyu.

On Sunday, Tian Chua apologised to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim for contesting against the party’s candidate, P Prabakaran, in Batu.

Anwar, who called the move “disappointing”, earlier said that it was PKR’s policy to automatically sack such members when asked what action would be taken against Tian Chua.

Tian Chua was the Batu MP from 2008 to 2018 but failed to defend his seat in GE14 after he was disqualified on nomination day.

The Batu seat will see a contest among 10 candidates, with big names like MIC vice-president A Kohilan Pillay (Barisan Nasional) and Gerak Independent’s Siti Kasim in the fray.

Other candidates include Azhar Yahya from Perikatan Nasional, P Naganathan (Warisan) and Wan Azliana Wan Adnan (Pejuang).