CALONKINI | As a young professional, Lee Yee Yuan is perhaps going against the grain by being in MCA.

Educated at the University of Melbourne, the 29-year-old architecture graduate is slated to be the MCA candidate for the Selangor state seat of Sekinchan in the 14th general election.

This comes at a time where youth support for the opposition is seen to be on the rise, while MCA, in particular, is facing a popularity crisis.

The last election saw MCA register its worst-ever results – winning just seven parliamentary seats and 11 state seats – following a significant swing of the Chinese vote to the opposition. This sparked comments that MCA does not represent the voice of the Chinese community anymore.

Lee, who hails from Chinese-majority Sekinchan, acknowledges such sentiments, but believes they are not shared by locals in his hometown...