GE14 | Hundreds of residents from Tanjung Malim protested in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya today, urging BN chairperson Najib Abdul Razak and MCA president Liow Tiong Lai to field Ong Ka Chuan as the candidate in Tanjung Malim.

Choo Chee Ming, the vice-chairperson of the MCA Bidor Station branch, told the reporters that Ong was very well-known there among residents of all races and they were very satisfied with him.

“We want him to be back in our constituency. If he doesn’t contest there, we will vote for the opposition,” said Choo, claiming voters may also spoil their vote if MCA insists on dropping Ong.

BN has announced that Perak MCA chief Mah Hang Soon will replace Ong at Tanjung Malim to face PKR's Chang Lih Kang and PAS' Mohd Tarmizi Abd Rahman.

Choo complained that the decision to drop Ong as a candidate was unreasonable and wanted Liow to reconsider.

Some 300 people attended the gathering today, including about 15 Orang Asli (photo below). They held up banners and chanted “Datuk Ong Ka Chuan!” repeatedly.

“What we want is very simple. We want a candidate who can win,” MIC Tanah Mas division chairperson G Kasaraja said, adding that Ong did his job excellently.

Asked whether he thought Mah would not win, he answered that he felt so.

“In any aspect, Ong did an excellent job. When we requested (for his help) in the morning, we received his answer that night. When we asked for help at night, he showed up in the next morning,” Kasaraja said.

Ahmad Abdul Karim, an Umno member from Slim River, claimed that he turned up today to represent the indigenous community's support for Ong.

“We want Ong Ka Chuan to be our representative in 2018. We want to make a complaint to (caretaker) prime minister Najib Razak!” he said, though when asked, he admitted that he wasn't an Orang Asli himself.

A Semai girl named Anim, when approached, told Malaysiakini that she didn’t know the purpose of the protest nor who “Ong Ka Chuan” was.

She said she had never been to Putrajaya before, so was happy when somebody invited her along yesterday.

Meanwhile, a 68-year-old MCA member, Chong Ah Peng, told Malaysiakini that he would vote for PKR’s Chang Lih Kang if MCA insisted on fielding Mah in Tanjung Malim.

“We are dissatisfied with the (new) candidate. We think that Ong Ka Chuan is a good candidate,” said the 68-year-old Kampung Baru Behrang Ulu villager.