SPECIAL REPORT | MCA bore the brunt of the “political tsunami” that swept through the nation at the 2013 general election. It lost more than half of the seats it contested in Johor, which BN had previously boasted as one of its “fixed deposit” states.

The Chinese-based party managed to hold on to just four out of its seven parliamentary seats and only two out of 16 state seats in this southern state.

While MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong held on to the Ayer Hitam parliamentary seat for the third time, he was nevertheless alarmed that his majority was slashed by half to 7,310.

For the first time, MCA lost Yong Peng, one of the two state seats under Ayer Hitam, to its arch-rival DAP.

Yong Peng is a mixed seat with 60 percent Chinese, 32 percent Malay and seven percent Indian voters. Meanwhile, Semarang, which was won by Umno, is largely a Malay constituency made up of 85 percent Malay voters.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, Wee's aide Ling Tian Soon (photo) recalled the grim feeling upon seeing the results of each polling district as they were released and displayed on the giant screen at the tally centre.

Ling could not believe his eyes - voters in all five Chinese new villages had abandoned the party. It was even more painful given that Wee’s opponent was a PAS candidate, Hu Pang Chaw. He is now in Amanah.

Even the elderly, who had previously given undivided support for MCA, had turned to the opposition, he lamented.

"When the result of each polling district came out, we lost all (streams), from the young to the elderly. This was shocking, showing that we were not recognised by them. All our efforts were in vain," he said.

Bad results, but not the worst

Ling, however, found some comfort in the post-election analysis, which showed that MCA still retained 30 percent of Chinese support in Ayer Hitam, which was higher compared to the 14 percent national average.

"For us, the 30 percent of Chinese votes (in Ayer Hitam) was considered the best outcome in the whole country," he said.

Beside relying on the support of Malays in the Semarang state seats, MCA also garnered a particular group of voters aged above 50 to retain Ayer Hitam. This group resided mostly in Yong Peng.

To ensure that MCA retains Ayer Hitam for the seventh time and wrest Yong Peng back from DAP, the party has put in extra effort to serve the community so that they will swing back to MCA in the coming polls.

Last week, Wee handed out presbyopia lenses to 200 elderly folk at a community hall in Kangkar Bahru, Yong Peng.

In his speech at the event, Wee reminded the elders that the glasses were only for reading and not when they are riding motorcycles.

"(When you put on the glasses), it will be easier to check the lottery," he quipped.

The MCA minister even helped an elderly woman, who received the free spectacles for the second time, to put on her glasses and asked, "Are you seeing better now?"

These glasses came in a box bearing an image of Wee and Ling, whom the party has chosen as the candidate for Yong Peng.

On that day, Wee attended nine events in Ayer Hitam and he gave out reading glasses at three events, all in Yong Peng.

When asked if the handouts were to endear the old folk to the party and so that they could influence their children, Ling stressed that Wee has been doing this since 2004 when he was first voted in.

Ling also said that MCA wanted to help the children who work outstation in taking care of their parents so that the young could focus on their career without worrying about home.

"When the elderly fall sick, the village's security and development committee will send them to the clinic. This is the kind of thoughtful service we offered although it doesn’t fall under our job scope. This is our mission for the constituency," he said.

Both Wee and Ling, a 34-year-old full-time politician that MCA has entrusted to snatch back Yong Peng, have a strong team to provide services to the community.

When Ling was interviewed by Malaysiakini at the service centre, his team was busy receiving residents, helping them with applications for affordable housing and 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M).

Wooing back party members

Besides the elderly, MCA also needs to win back its members, some of whom have turned to the opposition in GE13.

Ling estimates that at least 10 percent of party members voted for the opposition in the 2013 polls.

According to him, some 6,500 or 40 percent of the Chinese voters in Ayer Hitam are MCA members. There was a total of 42,913 eligible voters in 2013.

To achieve better results, MCA has had its Ayer Hitam division leadership revamped after the last elections. This was when Ling emerged as the youngest MCA division chief at the age of 29.

He has since been leading a team of relatively young people, with an average age of 40, to assist Wee in providing services at the constituency. He has also actively get in touch with MCA senior grassroots members.

"I will spend time with these veterans, at first meeting them in a small group, now meeting them in a larger event of 2,000.

"I started with the leadership, the leadership of the MCA branches, and later seeing the veterans. I used to tell others, don't take things for granted when the support of the veterans is concerned," he added.

"We must listen to them and meet them at least twice annually, dine with them and hear them out. To do that, you can just go to the coffee shop and you will bump into them as lots of aunties and uncle there are MCA members.”

Kangkar Bahru MCA branch chief Mok Tak Kam, 68, said Ling was friendlier compared to Lim Kee Moi, the two-term MCA Yong Peng assemblyperson.

"Ling can chat with you at the coffee shop or any other place. Lim did the same too, but not quite often and (is) less friendly," he noted.

According to him, the MCA grassroots also claimed that one of the reasons MCA's Lim Kee Moi failed to defend Yong Peng was that she was not a popular figure in the town.

Who can challenge Wee’s popularity?

In 2013, Lim lost the seat with a 2,475 majority. Wee, however, only lagged by 1,215 votes in Yong Peng against his contender from PAS.

This shows that 1,260 voters in Yong Peng supported Wee at the federal level but voted against MCA at the state level, raising the possibility that there was also an act of sabotage within MCA.

However, the party’s grassroots have ruled out another sabotage in the coming elections as Ling is a part of Wee's faction.

Yet, even if MCA has resolved the issue of sabotage, it still needs to deal with the Chinese voters who have demanded a change of government.

On Jan 7, Pakatan Harapan allocated the federal seat of Ayer Hitam, which has traditionally fielded a PAS candidate, to DAP.

DAP had initially agreed to allow Amanah, the splinter party of PAS to contest under DAP's ticket, but it was subsequently reported that the party wants to contest the seat by itself.

It is widely speculated that a heavyweight such as Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong or Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching will be fielded in the seat.

This has become a much-discussed issue among the Chinese community in Yong Peng, where many are looking forward to a tough fight between these heavyweights.

Businessman Yu You Aun (photo) feels that Harapan can only grab the seat by fielding a heavyweight as Wee and his team have been credited for their services here.

Proudly claiming himself as a staunch supporter of the opposition, Yu showed Malaysiakini a photo he snapped with DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

"This is Wee's fortress. You will not win without fielding an evenly matched heavyweight candidate. If you send Liew Chin Tong, then it would be a match worth watching," he said.

Local Chinese also claim that PAS is unable to defeat the MCA strongman because the candidate Hu Pang Chaw, a former PAS Supporters Club chief, was not considered a top leader.

DAP needs its own heavyweight

Concurring with this viewpoint, a DAP strategist has also expressed that by fielding a heavyweight, the party can unseat Wee if it is able to garner the support of 85 percent of Chinese voters and 30 percent of Malay voters.

To win the Chinese over, DAP has been harping on the lack of allocations for Yong Peng High School while also visiting the markets at Yong Peng town and Kangkar Bahru and handing out angpows and mandarin oranges to the public.

To an extent, the pre-campaigning from both parties has heated up this quiet town even before the general election is called by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

DAP appears to be unfazed by MCA's campaign, which emphasises the branding of their services for the community. The opposition party says it is confident of the services provided by Chew, who is generally praised by the voters.

Malaysiakini's interview with Chew at her service centre was often interrupted as she had to deal with various issues, including taxes and following up on BR1M applications for walk-in voters and those who called the centre.

That day, Chew had to handle these issues by herself as her assistant was on leave.

"The elderly in Yong Peng are not quite Internet-savvy, so they seek our help to apply via the web. We then print out a copy for them as a record," she said.

"We do not have an Inland Revenue Board (IRB) branch office at Yong Peng, so we will have to travel to Kluang and Batu Pahat and submit the documents for them on a bi-weekly basis after realising how inconvenient it is for them to do so themselves," she said.

Meanwhile, Wong Kak Chon (photo), a 51-year-old plantation owner in Kangkar Bahru said the Chinese voters lauded Chew's service.

"I often see her serving the community and helping the people," he said.

Yesterday: Exploring the impenetrable kampung parit of Ayer Hitam