KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — A spat between Umno’s Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed and his state MCA allies over his suggestion for the Chinese Barisan Nasional (BN) party to "loan” Pengkalan Rinting at the next polls has taken on racial undertones.

Media reports quoted Nur Jazlan, who is MP for Pulai that covers the Pengkalan Rinting state seat in Johor, as saying he had made the proposal based on "studies on the ground” that showed Chinese voters in the constituency have not "fully accepted MCA, and efforts to wrest back the seat from DAP may be futile”.

"Please don't threaten me or turn this into racial issue because I don't practise racism,” Nur Jazlan was quoted saying by New Straits Times Online in Putrajaya yesterday.

"It is my right as the Johor Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman to express my views, as I only intend to help and work together with our component party to win back the seat,” he added.

Sinar Online reported Nur Jazlan as saying that Umno had given Pengkalan Rinting to MCA in 1995 after holding the seat for nine elections, but MCA lost it in Election 2013 after holding it for just three elections.

"I proposed to take the seat if it is loaned to Umno. After we win, we’ll give it back,” he was quoted saying.

Local daily The Star reported MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong as saying Monday that Nur Jazlan’s proposal was a rude shock to him and it violated the BN’s spirit of working together.

He also reportedly said the question of the BN Chinese component party allowing Umno to contest Pengkalan Rinting does not arise as MCA has been working hard to regain the seat that it lost in the 13th general election to the DAP by almost 2,000 votes.

Pengkalan Rinting, to be renamed Perling in the proposed redelineation exercise, will reportedly have its ethnic composition changed to Malay (45.73 per cent), Chinese (42.02 per cent), Indian (11.1 per cent) and others (1.15 per cent).