MCA confirms ceding Kuantan and two state seats
MCA has confirmed that it will make way for Umno in the contest for the Kuantan parliamentary seat and two other state seats.
MCA has confirmed that it will make way for Umno in the contest for the Kuantan parliamentary seat and two other state seats.
Speaking to reporters after chairing the MCA central committee meeting today, its president Dr Chua Soi Lek said the party would be allocated new seats after the next electoral boundary re-delineation exercise.
The state seats it is giving up are Kota Laksamana in Malacca, which will be ceded to PPP, and either Jelapang or
Tronoh in Perak
.
Chua ( left ) said that MCA's traditional seats of Gelang Patah and Wangsa Maju are still under negotiations.
He explained that MCA had decided to loan Kuantan to Umno because there are currently 63 percent of Malay voters within the constituency.
Considering that MIC is only contesting two state seats in Perak, he added that the party is willing to make way to its ally.
Chua noted that these decisions will cause dissatisfaction among the grassroots, but stressed that these are to ensure that BN will win the general election and continue to become the government.
He also announced that MCA will exchange the Tanah Rata state seat in Pahang with Ketari, which belongs to Gerakan.
He added that MCA will get one extra state seat in Sabah, which is Luyang.
Chua said that MCA’s candidacy in Gelang Patah and Wangsa Maju is still under negotiation.
No finalisation yet
“Prime Minister (Najib Abdul Razak) had called for a meeting yesterday to discuss about Wangsa Maju, so I hope that the press will stop speculating,” he said, adding that its division chief Yew Teong Look would be the candidate should MCA get the seat.
He said that BN has yet to finalise which party, whether MCA or Umno, will be contesting in Gelang Patah.
“No decision in Gelang Patah. It’s possible maybe, maybe not,” he said.
He also denied that MCA is loaning the Padang Serai and Tebrau parliamentary seats to other BN component parties, saying that the rumours are misleading.
There has been speculation that the MCA had agreed to Umno taking over Wangsa Maju, causing disgruntlement in the Chinese-based party.
It has also been reported that caretaker Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman will be fielded in Gelang Patah, which is traditionally contested by MCA, to face DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang. However, the matter has yet to be confirmed.
In addition, Chua said that BN has not yet decided on the candidacy for the Pandan parliamentary seat, as Najib will decide on the BN candidacy next Monday or Tuesday.
Former MCA president Ong Tee Keat has repeatedly said that he will defend Pandan, despite his fallout with Chua.
MCA won only 15 out of the 40 parliamentary seats it contested in the 2008 general election, and 32 out of 90 state assembly seats, most of which fell to its arch-rival DAP.
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