Wee cautions MCA against complacency after recent electoral wins

 MCA won eight seats at the Johor election in July and claimed two seats at the Negeri Sembilan election earlier this month.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong today stressed the need for MCA to maintain its momentum ahead of the 16th general election. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

MCA president Wee Ka Siong has cautioned the party’s leaders and members against becoming complacent or overly excited by the party’s recent electoral gains.

MCA won eight seats at the Johor election in July and claimed two seats at the Negeri Sembilan election earlier this month.

In a Bernama report, Wee stressed the need for MCA to maintain its momentum ahead of the 16th general election (GE16), adding that party leaders at all levels need to demonstrate their commitment to the party by serving the public well.

“The strength of a political party provides added value and an advantage in political manoeuvring and future coalition negotiations,” he told reporters after attending the closing ceremony of MCA’s election training workshop in Ipoh today.

The workshop, attended by more than 200 division-level leaders, was officiated by Perak menteri besar and state Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Saarani Mohamad.

Wee added that seat allocations among BN component parties for the Melaka state election would only be finalised after the dissolution of the state legislative assembly, which is expected to be in December.

MCA ended its 13-year absence from the Negeri Sembilan legislative assembly after winning two seats in the Aug 1 state election.

The most notable result was in Chennah where Siow Kong Choon defeated DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook, who had held the seat since 2013, by 688 votes in a straight fight.

MCA’s Koh Kim Swee also wrested another DAP stronghold, Repah, by defeating S Veerapan with a 444-vote majority.

The eight seats MCA won at the July 11 Johor state election surpassed DAP’s haul of six seats.

The party’s biggest achievement was in regaining Tangkak, Jementah and Johor Jaya, three seats that were MCA seats for years before falling to DAP in 2013, 2018 and 2022.

MCA also managed to maintain its grip on Pekan Nanas, Yong Peng, Bekok and Paloh – seats that it won in 2022 – and helped BN hold on to the Layang-Layang seat which Umno won in 2022. - FMT