KUALA LUMPUR: MCA will take on the parliamentary constituencies of Batu and Bandar Tun Razak, as part of the 44 seats that the party will contest under Barisan Nasional in the 15th General Election (GE15), says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The MCA president said this came following negotiations in Barisan, where MCA agreed to swap Wangsa Maju for Bandar Tun Razak with Umno, and Padang Serai for Batu with MIC.
MCA vice-president Datuk Yew Teong Look will contest in Batu while Datuk Chew Yin Keen will contest in Bandar Tun Razak.
According to Dr Wee, Chew, who is also Bandar Tun Razak MCA division chief, isn’t a new face to locals.
“Even though the seat was contested by Umno in 2018, he (Chew) had worked hard in assisting Barisan,” said Dr Wee during a press conference at the party headquarters in Wisma MCA on Wednesday (Nov 2).
“With the latest announcement, there are 44 seats (that will be contested by MCA),” added Dr Wee.
Dr Wee said his statement was to clear the air regarding Barisan’s candidate announcement on Tuesday (Nov 1) night, as the candidate for Bandar Tun Razak wasn’t announced by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Batu was named as an MIC seat.
At the same time, Dr Wee said there are 17 new faces fielded as candidates in the 44 seats MCA is contesting at.
“This constitutes 38.6% of the 44 seats. These are new faces who will contest for the first time, representing Barisan and MCA,” said Dr Wee.
To ensure women’s participation in politics, Dr Wee also said there are seven female candidates in MCA’s GE15 lineup.
According to Dr Wee, there will be two candidates below the age of 30 contesting under MCA’s banner in Ampang and Kulai.
“This is a balanced lineup and composition in terms of age and most importantly, we must work hard for the party to garner support,” said Dr Wee.
Dr Wee said MCA will be contesting a total of 26 state seats, consisting of 17 in Perak, seven in Pahang and two in Perlis.
“Among the 26, there are five female candidates and also 18 new faces,” added Dr Wee.
Dr Wee also said there are some MCA vice-presidents who will not be contesting in GE15, among them Datuk Tan Teik Cheng, Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker and Datuk Heng Seai Kie.
“Tan, as a veteran party leader, wants to guide young leaders in GE15, and he wants to continue playing his role as a senator and campaigning for the party in Pahang,” says Dr Wee.
Heng decided to abstain from contesting in GE15 because she has been a senator for two terms.
“MCA’s top seven have scrutinised the candidates list and made a collective decision. This was also discussed with an open heart,” added Dr Wee.
MCA’s top seven refers to the party president, the deputy president, the secretary general and its four vice-presidents.
Nomination day for GE15 will be this Saturday (Nov 5) while polling is on Nov 19.
