KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — Twenty-two-year-old law student P. Prabakaran received a major boost in his bid for Parliament last night when PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang officially endorsed him as his candidate of choice for Batu.

The politician, popularly known as Tian Chua and is the incumbent Batu MP but was barred from defending the federal seat in the general election, told hundreds of supporters in Sentul to cross the "key” on their ballot papers on May 9.

"When we see the key, we see the flag of Keadilan.

"Beside the Keadilan flag will be the key, the key to Putrajaya,” he said, referring to independent candidate Prabakaran’s ballot symbol as assigned by the Election Commission (EC).

He urged his supporters to direct their votes that were meant for him to Prabakaran instead.

In his speech, the 54-year-old Chua said he liked to see youths try their hand at politics.

"When I asked Prabakaran why he wanted to stand for elections, he said that he wanted to join politics to feel how was it like to be part of a democratic system.

"I am not sure he can immediately handle the burden of being elected, but my promise is I will help him do his duty. I will never leave Batu,” he vowed.

Chua, however, sidestepped the question of whether Prabakaran had become a member of a political party in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) pact.

"I am absolutely clear the candidate we endorse follows and subscribes to the principles of PH,” he said, before reiterating that he will help the young man be an effective MP if he won.

Prabakaran indicated that he had yet to join any party, saying he would comment further after the election.

But he expressed relief to have Chua throw his weight behind him.

"With the help of Pakatan Harapan, I feel confident, but would still need the help of all their supporters,” he said.

He added that he had not given much thought to winning prior to Chua’s endorsement nor considered the other Batu candidates — Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Dominic Lau, Azhar Yahya from PAS, and fellow independent Datuk VM Panjamothy — as fierce rivals.

"I was not against Tian Chua, I did not plan to win before I entered this arena.

"Now with his help, I will look to assist my voters in getting their issues out there,” he said.

Prabakaran explained that he decided to contest to inspire youths to enter politics to "clean it up”.

"This is a golden opportunity for me to build my platform, to develop the youth of the nation, not just in Batu, and I feel good,” he said.

Prabakaran was also confident that he would be able to balance life as a student and an MP if he won the election.

"I will be a great example to the youths, and I will continue my education. Education is the most vital” he said.