MCA needs a strong leader to lead the Chinese community, said Umno supreme council member Nazri Abdul Aziz.

This leader, he said, needs to be stronger than DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, if MCA wants to win back Chinese support.

"I'm not an MCA member (but) MCA needs a strong Chinese leader.

"You can't deny that Lim is a strong Chinese leader [...] and the Chinese community looks for leadership.

"If the MCA leader is not stronger than Lim, how can they win back Chinese support?: Nazri said in an interview with Malaysiakini and Free Malaysia Today in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Nazri said after the 2008 (general) election, people valued candidates more than the party.

"After 2008 there are no more easy elections, no more walkovers.

"Every election will be bitterly fought. People don't look at parties anymore so you have to pick the right candidates," he said.

In the 2013 general election, MCA won only seven out of the 37 parliamentary seats it contested, and only 11 out of 90 state seats.

Of the BN component parties, only Umno emerged stronger in the 13th general polls, even increasing its number of parliamentary seats from 79 to 88.