On loan: Kuantan and Wangsa Maju?

KUALA LUMPUR -- In the name of the interest of Barisan Nasional, MCA may have to "lend" one or two Malay-majority constituencies in the coming general elections

In view of the fierce competition from Pakatan Rakyat, Najib is conceiving very stringent combat strategies to make sure BN will continue to stay in power. Other than carefully filtering potential candidates, the winning chances of various constituencies are also painstakingly calculated.

With two seats "on loan," MCA will be contesting 38 seats instead of the 40 it contested in 2008.

Unlike the past, BN component parties put BN's overall interest above their own, in particular constituencies BN lost in the last GE.

If specific component parties have bigger winning chances than the original ones, such constituencies may have to be "lent out" so that BN could have better chances of capturing additional seats in the coming general elections.

Based on reliable sources, BN is still in final discussion over the possible "loan" of Kuantan and Wangsa Maju.

Meanwhile, another source says it is certain that MCA will "lend" Kuantan to Umno, while the status of Wangsa Maju is still uncertain.

The number of Malay voters in Kuantan has increased compared to 2008, now about 63% of all voters in the constituency while Chinese and Indian voters stand at 33% and 4% respectively.

Be it the racial make-up or the controversial Lynas issue, an MCA candidate will not stand any better chance than an Umno candidate and therefore Umno's proposal of borrowing the constituency has not triggered significant objection.

On the contrary, the loan of Wangsa Maju could trigger undesirable backlash. An MCA leader has said, "Lending Kuantan is justifiable but it is simply unconvincing to tell us to put Wangsa Maju on loan as well."

From what we understand, the MCA central committee had on Tuesday's meeting discussed the loan of these two constituencies, and the loan of Wangsa Maju invited contrasting views from the committee members.

MCA has considered "lending out" Wangsa Maju based on the fact that the number of Malay voters is rising while that of Chinese voters dwindling. With BN now anticipating the return of Malay votes in favour of Umno, it would be more appropriate to field an Umno candidate instead.

Malay voters make up 53% of all voters in Wangsa Maju, while Chinese and Indian voters stand at 36% and 9% respectively.

-Sin Chew Daily