Frontrunners: Wong and Ling making strides.
KUALA LUMPUR: Both Wong You Fong and Ling Tian Soon are leading comfortably in the race for the Wanita MCA chairman and MCA Youth chief positions.
At press time, Wong received 148 electoral votes against Datuk Ooi Siew Kim with 43 votes.
Wong first assumed the role in December last year, after her predecessor Datuk Heng Seai Kie completed her nine-year term.
Ooi is the Penang Wanita MCA chairman and Bayan Baru division chief.
Tee Hooi Ling won the deputy Wanita MCA chief position uncontested.
Meanwhile, Ling is leading in a three-cornered fight against Daniel Wa Wai How and Bernard Chan Kee Siang, as of press time.
Ling, who is the Yong Peng assemblyman and Johor health and unity committee chairman, has 62 electoral votes against Wa (31) and Chan (0).
Wa is MCA Youth secretary-general while Chan is a Klang MCA Youth member.
Ling’s teammate Mike Chong Yew Chuan is also leading in the race for the deputy MCA Youth chief post with 60 electoral votes against Nian Yien (31).
Four vice-presidents and 25 central committee members will also be elected into the Wanita and Youth wings each to complete the new leadership line-up.
Party secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon said the voting process for the Wanita and Youth wings went smoothly yesterday.
He called on all candidates to close ranks and reunite now that contests for the Wanita and Youth wings are over.
“This is the very first task for all candidates. No matter who wins, they must extend the olive branch to the other side and reunite.
“Contests for positions in both wings had been stiff, but we are all comrades at the end of the day,” he said when met at Wisma MCA yesterday.
All the winners will begin their terms after the party’s annual general assembly this coming Oct 21 and Oct 22.
Elections for the central party committee will take place today.
The party polls involve a total of 52,736 divisional delegates comprising 29,151 MCA delegates; 5,016 MCA Youth and 18,569 Wanita MCA delegates.
A total of 160 polling stations have been set up nationwide for the central committee election, comprising 149 divisional polling stations and 11 joint divisional polling stations.
