MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong said he respects Liew Chin Tong's decision to file an election petition to challenge the results for the Ayer Hitam parliamentary seat.

The DAP leader's lawyer Yeo Yang Poh filed the petition on behalf of his client with the Johor Bahru High Court this morning.

In a Facebook posting this evening with the hashtag #truthwillprevail, Wee said he would defend himself in court in accordance with the legal process.

The former minister in the Prime Minister's Department also recalled what transpired on the night of the 14th general election on May 9.

“Late into the night of May 9, Chin Tong rang me up to concede defeat and congratulate me.

“I told him then that I could not make myself happy as many of my comrades in BN and MCA had lost.

“I hope the legal suit will prove my innocence yet again,” he added.

As for Chin Tong's actual basis for the legal challenge, Wee said he and his lawyer can only respond with more details after they have received the documents concerned.

Liew lost to Wee by a razor-thin majority of 303 votes.

The Election Commission announced that the election result was gazetted on May 28.

Candidates dissatisfied with the results are allowed 21 days to file election petitions, which means the last day for filing is June 18.

Meanwhile, Liew's lawyer said his client named Wee as the first respondent, Ayer Hitam returning officer Mohd Hafiz Aliman and the EC as the second and third respondents respectively.

Yeo said he and Liew found there were sufficient grounds for filing the petition and that there were some rules and laws violated during the campaign.

"The focus is more on the conduct of the election during the entire campaign period and not just what happened on the polling day,” he added.