MCA Gelang Patah division chief Jason Teoh is slated to be fielded as the party's 14th general election candidate in the parliamentary seat, according to MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong.

The Star quoted Wee as saying that MCA "cannot see anyone other than Teoh" to wrest the seat from DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang.

"He (Teoh) is popular and well-liked by Chinese, Indians and Malays in Gelang Patah, and is always around when needed," Wee reportedly said during an MCA Chinese New Year open house in SJKC Yong Peng 1, Ayer Hitam yesterday.

Wee, who is also the Johor MCA chairperson, said Teoh was well-known in Gelang Patah as he had been serving the people there for many years.

Although the Gelang Patah seat was contested by former Johor menteri besar Abdul Ghani Othman in the 2013 election, Wee pointed out that Teoh had remained active in the area.

He added that even current Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein had acknowledged that Teoh, who used to chair the Johor MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau, was the best candidate for the Gelang Patah seat.

"This shows that Umno also has confidence in Teoh," said Wee.

At the same time, The Star also quoted Wee (photo) as saying that the MCA did not want to waste its time and resources thinking about their potential rivals from Harapan in Gelang Patah or other Johor seats.

"We have better things to do than to think about them. We just leave it to them to decide their candidates," he said.

On his own Ayer Hitam seat, Wee said he did not discount the possibility of Harapan fielding a "parachute candidate" as they do not have a reputable leader from the area.

He said the Ayer Hitam MCA election machinery was prepared to face the election, adding that a meeting was held on Thursday for an update on the latest preparations.

Johor DAP had recently announced that it would be fielding its own candidate in Ayer Hitam, despite earlier speculation that an Amanah candidate would be fielded on a DAP ticket.

However, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu later clarified later that no final decision had been made on the matter.