Seats taken away without dignity, MCA stages walkout at candidate naming ceremony

 

MCA staged a walkout at Barisan Nasional candidate naming ceremony last night as its contested seats was slashed from seven to two.

According to MCA president Datuk Seri Ir Wee Ka Siong, the seats it previously contested was given away to other parties without due consultation even though MCA is a long time BN component.

“MCA cannot be pushed around. We deserve to be treated with dignity. How can decisions be made on MCA’s behalf without our agreement when the MCA president is still here?” he was quoted by The Star.

Deputy president Mah Hang Soon along with six MCA divisions were among those who walked out with Wee.

Wee also claimed that his party was kept in the dark over the matter.

He was initially informed that last night’s event involved election machinery launch, not candidate announcement.

Further, Wee also highlighted that his party learnt about MCA seats being given out to other parties on Oct 22 without necessary seat negotiations.

MCA sent an objection letter over that decision.

“At the very least, we should be shown some respect. We are allies, not enemies. If there had been proper discussions and we had reached a decision together, we would have been prepared to share responsibility,” he said.

He is hopeful that BN would come to its senses and reallocate the seats in favour of MCA.

“We still have time before nomination day. I hope this can be corrected,” he added.

MCA held Klebang and Machang Jaya in the state assembly after contesting seven seats after the state polls in 2021. That included Ayer  Keroh, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana, Bandar Hilir and Bemban.

The two candidates who was named last night are Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem in Machap Jaya and Datuk Lim Ban Tong in Klebang.

Melaka is the fourth state holding its state polls. MCA won more seats in Johor compared to its rival, DAP.

In Negeri Sembilan the party also pulled a big upset by defeating DAP secretary general Anthony Loke in Chennah with 688 vote majority.

The seats that were denied to MCA would most likely be contested by Perikatan Nasional that is led by PAS. UMNO had announced previously it would only offer seven seats.

Both PN and BN are continuing its state election collaboration. The first was in Negeri Sembilan. —  Focus Malaysia