Umno supreme council member Nazri Abdul Aziz' Chinese New Year open house saw a strong turnout from the Chinese community, despite a boycott by MCA.

According to Nanyang Siang Pau, some 1,000 attended the open house in his constituency of Padang Rengas on Friday.

Local MCA leaders, who declared a boycott against Nazri, were notably absent, said the report. However, local Gerakan leaders were said to have attended the event.

Nazri and MCA have been trading insults over the Robert Kuok issue over the past few days.

During last night's event, Nazri made no mention of his conflict with MCA, and instead focused on his contributions to the local community.

He joked that every time he returned to his constituency from Kuala Lumpur, many "aunties" would visit him to have tea.

Nazri (photo) stressed that as MP, he has taken care of everyone regardless of religion, ethnicity or political leanings. 

At the open house, the minister also handed out some 200 red packets to the elderly.

The Nazri-MCA tiff started when the minister called Kuok a "pondan" (effeminate) and challenged him to relinquish his Malaysian citizenship, following blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin's accusation that the tycoon was funding DAP.

Kuok denied Raja Petra's claim, saying he reserved the right to sue.

Nazri later said he was glad that Kuok clarified the issue, but was not sorry for his off-colour remarks.

MCA's insistence that Nazri apologise led to a war of words between the two, which continues to escalate.