A plan to field Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's political secretary Wong Nai Chee in Alor Gajah has sparked revolt among local BN ranks.
According to Oriental Daily, MCA president Liow Tiong Lai reportedly informed incumbent Alor Gajah MP Koh Nai Kwong last night that he would be moved to the Machap state seat, which falls within the Alor Gajah parliamentary constituency.
Alor Gajah MCA responded by cancelling a party event scheduled for this Friday, with division secretary Chew Chong Lin even lashing out at Liow.
Chew told Sin Chew Daily that Liow, as MCA president, should not abuse his power to decide on election candidates, as it could result in a backlash.
Koh's backers also announced a solidarity gathering tomorrow, promising a show of strength with thousands of supporters.
His supporters also took to Facebook to voice their discontent, flooding Liow's page with angry comments.
"Hey Mr President, I don't know you. I don't know Wong Nai Chee. In fact, I don't want to know. But if you decide to put any other candidate other than my MP Koh Nai Kwong, we Alor Gajah people know how to teach you guys," said one commenter.
"MCA president, we have the power to topple the candidate that we do not like. We will only accept Koh Nai Kwong to contest in Alor Gajah," said another.
Even Umno members came out strongly for Koh. In total, over 100 comments in various languages were posted on the MCA president’s Facebook page.
A Facebook page was even set up in support of Koh, titled "Only Vote for KNK."
Sending Koh to Machap is seen as a risky move at best, as MCA only won the state seat with a slim 152-vote majority in 2013.
However, MCA's incumbent Machap state assemblyperson Lai Meng Chong, who supports Koh, denied there being campaign to challenge Liow's decision.
Instead, he said it was merely the grassroots voicing out their desire to keep Koh in Alor Gajah.
Lai also confirmed the gathering for Koh tomorrow, saying "We are not protesting. We just want our president to reconsider.
"Koh is a winnable candidate. It is not just the Chinese who support him but also the Malays and Indians," he told Malaysiakini.
Koh could not be reached for comment.
MCA's safest seat
Meanwhile, Wong confirmed to Sin Chew Daily the plan to move Koh to a state seat, describing it as a "redeployment of personnel" to ensure a big win for BN and MCA.
Wong, who was appointed as Najib's political secretary in 2011, first shot to prominence in the 2004 general election, unseating then DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock in Kota Melaka.
It was the first time DAP had lost the seat since the creation of the constituency in 1969, which had Lim Kit Siang as its first MP.
In the following election, however, Wong lost Kota Melaka to DAP.
Wong, who is an appointed MCA central committee member, is expected to stand a good chance if he is fielded in Alor Gajah, which is the safest parliamentary seat in the country for MCA.
The party achieved its largest majority in Alor Gajah out of the seven parliamentary seats it won in the 2013 polls.
Koh garnered 32,594 votes, beating DAP’s Damian Yeo Shen Li by an 11,597-vote majority.
DAP, which has contested and lost in Alor Gajah in the last three general elections, will cede the seat to its Pakatan Harapan ally Bersatu in the 14th general election.
DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke has expressed confidence that Bersatu will pose the strongest threat to MCA in the Malay-majority constituency. - Mkini
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