MCA gets 1 more seat for Melaka polls after BN-PN talks

 The party will field Melvin Chua in the Kota Laksamana seat for the Nov 14 state election.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong (centre) with the party’s four Melaka election candidates (from left) Ngwe Hee Sem, Jasmine Lok, Melvin Chua and Lim Ban Hong.

PETALING JAYA:

MCA will contest four seats in the Nov 14 Melaka election, with the Barisan Nasional component to also field a candidate in Kota Laksamana.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said the party was allocated the seat following discussions between BN and Perikatan Nasional, which have formed an alliance for the Melaka polls.

Wee said the party will field Melvin Chua in Kota Laksamana.

Chua contested the seat in the 2018 state election, when he received 4,008 votes, losing to Pakatan Harapan’s Low Chee Leong, who garnered 20,181 votes.

MCA was initially allocated only two seats – Kelebang and Machap Jaya – to contest in the election, prompting Wee to lead a walkout during the BN candidate announcement ceremony.

Following talks with the BN leadership, Wee announced yesterday that the party had also been given the Bandar Hilir seat, which will be contested by Melaka city local councillor Jasmine Lok.

Chinese voters make up about 73% of the electorate in Bandar Hilir, a constituency established in 1974. DAP initially won the seat before MCA held it from 1982 to 1995.

Chinese voters also make up nearly 79% of the electorate in Kota Laksamana, which was established in 2003 and has been held by DAP since.

The party had earlier announced Lim Ban Hong and and Ngwe Hee Sem as its Kelebang and Machap Jaya candidates, respectively. - FMT