MELAKA: MCA leaders have walked out of the Barisan Nasional event to announce its candidates for the upcoming Melaka polls, saying the party would not accept decisions made without its consent.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the its previously contested seats had been allocated to other parties without proper consultation, leaving MCA sidelined despite being a long-standing Barisan component party.
"MCA cannot be pushed around. We are a political party and we deserve to be treated with dignity. How can decisions be made on MCA's behalf without our agreement when the MCA president is still here?" he said.
Dr Wee said this after he, MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon and leaders from six MCA divisions in Melaka walked out of the event at the Melaka International Trade Centre here on Saturday (Oct 24).
He said MCA had been informed by Barisan's executive secretary at about 9pm on Friday that the event would only involve the launch of the election machinery, with no candidates to be announced.
However, after arriving at the venue, Dr Wee was told by party members that candidates could be announced. He later discovered that the programme included a candidate announcement segment and questioned Barisan's leadership over the change.
He said MCA had learnt at a meeting two days earlier that the seats it had previously contested would be allocated to other parties, despite the lack of proper negotiations with the party.
Dr Wee said he raised strong objection and MCA subsequently wrote to Barisan on Friday to formally express its disagreement with the proposed allocation.
MCA's central political bureau met at 9am on Saturday and decided that the party should still attend the event as a Barisan component party. However, the unexpected candidate announcement prompted the leaders to walk out.
Dr Wee described the situation as unprecedented in his years in politics, saying MCA had not been given the opportunity to discuss the allocation before being told that the seats had been settled.
He said MCA had met other parties only once in Melaka before negotiations were concluded.
He questioned how the party could accept an arrangement made without its agreement.
"At the very least, we should be shown some respect. We are allies, not enemies. If there had been proper discussions and we had reached a decision together, we would have been prepared to share responsibility for it," he said.
Dr Wee stressed that the walkout was not intended to boycott the event but to make it clear that MCA would not accept decisions made without consultation.
He also clarified that the dispute concerned the seat-allocation process in Melaka and should not be taken as a reflection of MCA's broader cooperation with Barisan.
He said cooperation at Federal level, as well as seat negotiations in Johor and Negri Sembilan, were conducted with mutual respect.
Dr Wee said the Melaka situation was different because MCA's state and central leaders were not properly consulted.
He called on Barisan's central leadership to address the dispute, adding that MCA had already conveyed its position and would continue discussions over the next few days.
"We still have time before nomination day and I hope this can be corrected," he said.
Asked if MCA would withdraw from contesting in Melaka, Dr Wee said the party had yet to make a decision and would assess developments over the next few days.
He added that MCA could not accept seats it previously contested handed to another party without negotiations, stressing that candidate selection should follow the party's internal procedures and receive its consent.
MCA currently holds two seats in the Melaka state assembly: Klebang and Machap Jaya.
In the 2021 Melaka state polls, MCA contested seven seats – Machap Jaya, Klebang, Ayer Keroh, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana, Bandar Hilir and Bemban – winning Machap Jaya and Klebang.
