Last Saturday, a MCA held a low-key launch of an election-related programme at an open-air car park in Sea Park, Petaling Jaya, but the event was a mere formality for what was to follow.

Five VIPs joined 60 residents and 40 MCA members - Selangor exco members Ch'ng Toh Eng and Tang Si Hang, state assemblypersons Lim Choon Kin and Dr Wong Sau Hou, and Chew Mei Fun, the parliamentary secretary to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

In addition, all state MCA division chiefs, including those from Shah Alam, Gombak and Kuala Selangor, were present, although Kinrara state assemblyperson Kow Cheong Wei arrived a little late.

Former news anchor Victor Gu ( left ), said to be a MCA rising star, emceed the event.

The event over, the MCA entourage started on its real mission - a house-to-house 'assault' on Petaling Jaya Utara constituents.

Party workers were split into 40 groups and in about two hours, covered 2,000 homes. Their duties included passing out leaflets, gathering feedback, verifying voter status and gathering voters' mobile phone numbers.

More importantly, they assessed voter inclination to determine if they are 'white' - used to indicate if there will be a vote in MCA's favour.

Putting on her parliamentarian's hat, Chew - along with Gu and a team of four - tirelessly knocked on doors, calling out 'Anyone home? I'm your MP Chew Mei Fun. Anyone home?'.

Dressed in a bright yellow party T-shirt with the words 'Chew Mei Fun Service Centre', Gu - who shot to fame as a Chinese gameshow host - had many housewives and children tickled pink with his oratory skills.

It was observed that residents whom Chew visited did not show signs of discontent. Many were women who greeted her like an old friend. Although, her walkabout did not involve her taking down complaints, the residents did not have much to grouse about either.

None of them talked to Chew about politics or current affairs. Most of the time, the conversation was spent on small talk.

Slogan in brochure

Observers often say that the MCA is not afraid to get close to its electorate and this was obvious when the groups made their rounds.

An English-Chinese brochure titled 'Valued Hallmark of Service and Development Delivery' was distributed to every house visited. The brochure is signed by Chew, Wong and Lim who included their office and mobile phone numbers in it.

To stress their community-centric approach, the trio signed off by saying 'We're only one phone call away'.

Sea Park is part of the Damansara Utama state seat. Damansara Utama, represented by Lim and Kampung Tunku, represented by Wong, are state seats under the Petaling Jaya parliamentary seat held by Chew.

All three seats are being eyed by MCA's traditional rivals DAP, which hopes to capitalise on a tide of discontent in these Chinese-majority seats.

In recent surveys , urban-based Chinese voters have expressed dissatisfaction over the economy, crime and how the government handle religious and racial issues.

One political analyst has even predicted that MCA stands to lose up to six parliamentary seats in the next general elections, widely speculated to be held by early next year.

Other than the Petaling Jaya Selatan parliamentary seat, three other state seats - Kajang, Sekinchan and Pandamaran - have been identified as areas where a MCA will conduct similar house-to-house visits.

No guarantee

One Selangor MCA leader told Malaysiakini , on condition of anonymity that the visits are focused on areas where a possible swing to the opposition may occur.

"Sometimes, the candidate for that area might be weak, or they may be internal problems within the local MCA division," he said.

However, the leader expressed reservations when asked if he thought such tactics would work.

"If we only do this at the last minute before the general election, the result would be insufficient. It is important to always interact with the public," he added.

Asked about this, Lim ( photo ) said the house-to-house visits are not being undertaken just because the elections are near.

"Our relationship with the residents' associations is solid. We always work together to organise activities," he said.

"We always adopt a 'public service' mentality. If we were just doing this to get elected, then we won't come to this area - it's a 'black' area. People are looking at us as sacrificial lambs".

The Sea Park area was a DAP stronghold when Dr Kua Kia Song ( photo ) was Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

On public reaction to his house visits, Lim said there were several complaints about insufficient street lamps and drainage problems, but he claimed that residents are happy with the work done by their elected representatives.

However, solving problems may not always satisfy the electorate and even Lim is not fully confident that the there will not be a swing in votes.

"Serving a constituency is not a problem. But when it comes to bigger issues close to the public's heart, these issues will affect how they vote. No matter what, I would still work hard to make changes," he added.