KUALA LUMPUR: MCA will contest two seats in the Melaka state election, with the party saying it has received assurances that Chinese representation in a future Barisan Nasional-led state government will not be sidelined.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the party’s presidential council decided to take part in the Nov 14 polls following discussions with Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The two seats are Machap Jaya and Klebang, currently held by MCA assemblymen Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem and Datuk Lim Ban Hong, respectively.
Dr Wee said he met Zahid at about 12.30pm on Wednesday (Oct 28), where MCA raised its concerns over the party’s representation after the election.
“We have decided to participate in the Melaka state election.
“We have been given an assurance that the representation of the Chinese community, particularly through MCA, will not be marginalised.
“We have a framework to ensure MCA’s representation can be arranged, but the most important thing is to form the government first,” he told the media at Wisma MCA.
Dr Wee said Zahid had listened to MCA’s views and responded positively to matters raised by the party.
He added that MCA and Umno, as Barisan’s core component parties, had worked together for many years and would continue their cooperation in the state election.
“Our friendship did not begin today. There may have been matters that needed improvement, but we have discussed them internally,” he said.
He added that the immediate task was to mobilise the coalition’s machinery and secure a mandate from voters.
“Victory is important for us to form a strong and balanced government,” he said.
Dr Wee said MCA would concentrate on the two seats it is contesting while helping Barisan’s campaign in the coalition’s other constituencies.
“For MCA, we will focus on the areas we are contesting. At the same time, we will assist Barisan in the other seats,” he said.
He said the party’s candidates had started completing their nomination procedures and would go through MCA’s internal selection process before their names were submitted to Barisan headquarters.
MCA candidates must receive the endorsement of the party’s presidential council and sign a pledge of loyalty to the party, he added.
The decision ends days of uncertainty over MCA’s participation in the election after the party objected to Barisan’s seat allocation.
MCA leaders, including Dr Wee and deputy president Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, walked out of Barisan’s candidate announcement at the Melaka International Trade Centre on Saturday (Oct 24), saying the allocation had been decided without the party’s agreement.
Barisan had allocated MCA two of the 21 seats it is contesting, down from the seven seats MCA contested in the 2021 Melaka election.
In that election, MCA contested Machap Jaya, Klebang, Ayer Keroh, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana, Bandar Hilir and Bemban, winning Machap Jaya and Klebang.
Earlier, Zahid said there was no question of MCA pulling out of the election, adding that discussions between Barisan and MCA leaders had produced a positive outcome.
On Wednesday, Zahid also shared a photograph of himself with Dr Wee on Facebook with the caption, “Kita Geng Biru”.
Nomination day for the Melaka state election is set for Saturday (Oct 31), early voting on Nov 10 and polling on Nov 14.
