MELAKA: The Tangga Batu Umno division fully backs the move to hand back the parliamentary seat for MCA to contest in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Division chief Datuk Seri Mohamad Ali Mohamad said the Tangga Batu seat, which was previously known as Batu Berendam, had been entrusted to MCA by the Barisan Nasional leadership in a decision made on Monday (Oct 31).
"We (Tangga Batu Umno), comprising 70 branches in this parliamentary constituency, are collectively backing the MCA candidate to contest in GE15.
"Furthermore, Tangga Batu, when it was previously known as Batu Berendam, was then an MCA seat," he said during a gathering at his home here on Monday night.
Mohamad Ali said his division would work hard to assist the MCA candidate and will accept the decision by the Barisan leadership with an open heart.
"For us, it is more imperative that Barisan would be able to wrest the seat from PKR in GE15.
"There are about 24% Chinese voters in this constituency," he added.
In GE14, the Tangga Batu seat was won by PKR's Rusnah Aluai, who defeated Barisan candidate Datuk Zali Mat Yasin and PAS candidate Zulkifli Ismail with a 4,659 majority vote.
Rusnah has been re-nominated as the PKR candidate for GE15.
With the latest development, MCA is set to contest the Kota Melaka and Tangga Batu parliamentary seats in GE15.
Meanwhile, Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali is expected not to be nominated as a candidate for the Masjid Tanah parliamentary seat.
It is learnt that Barisan leadership took into account the wishes of the grassroots not to field a serving chief minister as a parliamentary candidate in GE15.
