JELEBU: Chennah voters have been urged to back a young local leader against DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, who MCA claims has "forgotten" the seat.
MCA youth chief Ling Tian Soon said Barisan Nasional's Siow Kong Chun was not facing an ordinary opponent in the Negeri Sembilan state election.
"This time, he is not up against just any candidate. He is facing the DAP secretary-general, a man whose post is so senior, whose rank is so high and whose responsibilities are perhaps so many that he has forgotten Chennah.
"Come, people of Chennah, this time let us give a local son, a young man, and a handsome one at that, John Siow, the chance to represent this constituency," he said at an MCA ceramah in Titi here on Saturday (July 18).
Loke, who is Transport Minister and Seremban MP, was Chennah assemblyman for two terms from 2004 to 2013.
Ling urged voters to turn out in full force with their families on Aug 1 and vote for "candidate No. 1", calling it a golden opportunity to send a clear message to both the state and federal governments.
He claimed the snap polls were not what the people wanted, blaming the constitutional crisis that triggered them on the current Mentri Besar's poor management.
"We did not come here to pick fights or create chaos in Chennah. We came to restore the stability that this state lost so long ago," he said.
Citing Johor, which Barisan has governed since 2022, Ling said the state's rapid economic growth and orderly administration had drawn investors.
He also took aim at Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, claiming the Prime Minister had showered the people with promises before coming to power but offered excuses when they demanded their fulfilment.
"He promised the moon and the stars, but when it came to implementation, there were all kinds of excuses.
"The people of Negeri Sembilan are angry over what was promised to them. Prices of goods keep rising, and the government is being run chaotically. We must send this message clearly to the federal government," he said.
Claiming that lorry operators and transport industry players were angry over policies implemented under Loke's Transport Ministry, Ling urged them to express it at the ballot box.
"Let us send a message to Loke, we are angry with him," he said.
Negri Sembilan will go to the polls on Aug 1.
