Will PH deliver on their promises now, asks MCA

MCA president Wee Ka Siong greeting supporters at the counting centre in Pontian, Johor, this evening.

PONTIAN: MCA president Wee Ka Siong has questioned if Pakatan Harapan would implement projects promised for Tanjung Piai, after losing the parliamentary seat to Barisan Nasional in the by-election today.

Wee said the biggest task for his colleague, newly elected Tanjung Piai MP Wee Jeck Seng, was to monitor the government in executing the projects.

“He will have to start his work tomorrow or Monday and his first task is to monitor the projects and allocations promised by the government.

“The government cannot say that they had lost and pretended nothing had happened,” he said at Dewan Jubli Intan here after the Election Commission announced Jeck Seng’s victory in the by-election.

Jeck Seng polled 25,466 votes for a 15,086 majority over the PH candidate, Karmaine Sardini of PPBM, who managed only 10,380 votes

Wee previously said the Pakatan Harapan government had put in a “large sum of money” in trying to retain the seat, which was won by a slim majority at the 2018 general election.

The government had allocated about RM7.3 million for projects in Tanjung Piai, which prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said was not meant to buy votes.

Jeck Seng, who was Tanjung Piai MP from 2008 to 2018, said his victory and his return to Dewan Rakyat would have been nothing without the support of the voters.

“I thank them for their support, regardless of their background,” he said, noting that the victory also strengthened Barisan Nasional as an opposition party.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the majority obtained by Jeck Seng showed that the people’s support had returned to BN.

“Chinese made up of 42% of Tanjung Piai voters and the results showed that the Chinese are back with BN. It is also a signal for BN that we are still relevant,” he said. - FMT