Umno does not practise the ‘BN spirit’ and proof of this is the move by the caretaker prime minister’s political secretary, Shafie Abdullah, to “steal” the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat from the MCA, the party’s Wangsa Maju division said today.

NONE "There is no BN spirit now. Shafie has taken on as the BN chief (for Wangsa Maju). The next step is that they (Umno) will take our constituency.

"They don’t even discuss this with us!" the Wangsa Maju MCA organising secretary Lim Choon Hong told a press conference at divisional headquarters in Setapak this morning.

Echoing Lim, division deputy chief Ng Kiat Ling said Wangsa Maju MCA has been working hard for many years in the constituency which has been the traditional seat of the party in Kuala Lumpur.

"You (Umno) now want to take it (Wangsa Maju). This is unfair to us!" Ng said.

Wangsa Maju Umno has been eyeing the mixed seat since 2008 and wants to field Shafie, who is the party’s division chief.

Last Friday, Shafie had attended a prayer session and luncheon with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in Wangsa Maju, setting tongues wagging that he has obtained the Umno central leadership's blessings to go for Wangsa Maju.

Speculation was that the MCA had agreed to Umno taking over the seat, causing disgruntlement in the Chinese-based party.

Some 3,000 M mca member ngo support yew teong look 100413 2 CA members and supporters rallied at a dinner last night, demanding that Wangsa Maju MCA division chief Yew Teong Look ( right ) be named as the BN candidate.

Some members directed their anger at MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek for not informing the grassroots about the alleged decision to give away the traditionally MCA constituency to Umno.

The rally-cum-dinner held at Danau Kota, Setapak was organised by some 80 local organisations.

Holding umbrellas under the rain, Yew's supporters unfurled banners supporting him and took turns to speak on stage, demanding that the BN retains Yew as the coalition's candidate.

Community leader Lim Cheng Hock, who claimed to be a MCA veteran, described Chua as "kiasu" (afraid of losing) and "kiasi" (afraid of death).

NONE An angry Lim dismissed the argument that Wangsa Maju has more than 50 percent Malay voters and therefore an Umno candidate should be fielded.

"Which MCA seats have more than 50 percent Malay voters? They include Labis and Bandar Tun Razak, so why not give these seats to Umno too?" he asked.

"I have been with the party for more than 30 years... Can I ask my party leader why he could not have informed us before making such a major decision (to give away Wangsa Maju)?"

Lim also called on Yew to contest as Independent candidate if he is not fielded in Wangsa Maju under BN ticket.

azlan The members also fear that the constituency will not be returned to MCA once the seat goes to Umno.

Yew, who took the stage as the last speaker, said "I have heard the voice of the people" and that he needs time to consider the views expressed by members and supporters.

Questioned by reporters later, Yew refused to respond to the call for him to contest as an Independent, should he not be named as BN's choice for Wangsa Maju.

At an emergency meeting on Monday, the Wangsa Maju MCA division resolved that it would boycott the election campaign if Yew is not fielded.

Yew lost to PKR's Wee Choo Keong by a wafer-thin majority of 150 votes in the 2008 general election.

Wee, however, quit PKR in 2010 to become a pro-BN Independent MP.

MCA 'lends' Tronoh to MIC

Chinese dailies have, since last week, been speculating that MCA will make way for Umno in a number of parliamentary constituencies, including Wangsa Maju and Gelang Patah in Johor.

However, Chua has to date only confirmed that Tronoh, a state seat in Perak, will be "lent" to the MIC.

He explained the justification for this on his Facebook page, also calling on party members to remain calm and to refrain from sabotaging BN in the polls due on May 5.

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