MP: MCA has always focused on the people’s agenda, not personal agenda

Meeting the people: Wee (right) greeting attendees at the Tanjung Piai MCA division’s Chinese New Year lunch in Pontian, Johor.

PONTIAN: Despite unfavourable results here in the 14th general election, MCA still did its best to assist the people all these years, says Tanjung Piai MP Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng.

Wee, who is also the Tanjung Piai MCA division chief, said: “My team, including my vice-chief Tan Eng Meng, never gave up and remained here to assist the people even though back then, we were in the Opposition and held no government posts. Neither did we have a platform.

“There were also times when Tan had to play the role of an assemblyman in Pekan Nanas to assist the needy, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“People can criticise us all they want but at the end of the day, we want to focus on the people’s agenda and not on personal agenda,” he told reporters after attending the division’s Chinese New Year lunch here yesterday.

Wee lost the Tanjung Piai parliamentary seat while Tan was defeated in the Pekan Nanas state seat in the 2018 polls.

However, Wee won the Tanjung Piai parliamentary seat in the 2019 by-election and was appointed Deputy Primary Industry and Commodities Minister.

Tanjung Piai is made up of the Pekan Nanas and Kukup state seats.

Asked about the upcoming Johor election, Wee said the division proposed only one candidate for the Pekan Nanas seat and it was up to the Barisan Nasional’s state and federal leadership to approve.

He did not reveal the name though he hinted that Tan was the choice for the seat.

Tan, who is currently a Pontian municipal councillor, had contested the seat in the 14th general election where he received 10,548 votes compared to DAP’s Yeo Tung Siong, who obtained 11,856 votes.

Wee said the Pontian district had two parliamentary seats, Tanjung Piai and Pontian (held by Umno), which is made up of Benut (Umno) and Pulai Sebatang (Amanah).

He cited MCA’s GE14 Pulai Sebatang state seat candidate Datuk Tee Siew Kiong as another example of a leader providing continued service despite his loss.

Tee, who is also the Sultanah Fatimah Foundation chairman, had continuously distributed aid to the needy and assisted in community issues, even more so after he was appointed as an adviser to the Johor Mentri Besar, added Wee.

He hoped that MCA’s traditional seats of Pekan Nanas and Pulai Sebatang could be contested by the party in the state polls.

“We want to win and form a stable state government in order to implement policies and programmes without interruption for the benefit of the people.

“The rakyat has suffered enough in the past two years due to job and income issues brought about by the pandemic, and we cannot keep politicking as it will further affect their livelihood,” he added.