IPOH, April 26 — MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan should urge his supporters to calm down over the decision to drop him as the Tanjung Malim candidate, a Barisan Nasional (BN) leader said today.

Commenting on the group of protesters who gathered at Putrajaya earlier today to protest BN’s decision, Tanjung Malim BN chairman Datuk Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib said the actions were serious and against the coalition’s spirit of consensus.

"I would like to advise Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan to calm his supporters and to give a good example for the sake of people’s unity in Tanjung Malim,” he said in a statement here today.

Khusairi said as a party secretary-general, Ong must respect the decision of his own party president who proposed the name of state MCA chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon to contest Tanjung Malim.

"When Ong was nominated to contest the seat during the 12th general election in 2008, the Tanjung Malim BN machinery did not know who he was but decided to abide by the party leadership’s decision,” he said.

"He (Ong) should remember that he too is not a local from Tanjung Malim but was well received and managed to win in a seat that is majority Malay,” he added.

Ong, noted Khusairi, was one of the MCA candidates who won a parliamentary seat as Tanjung Malim voters place more importance on ensuring BN continues to rule the country.

"I want to remind Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan that the majority of Tanjung Malim voters respect the decision of BN leadership in naming the candidates for the seats here. To protest the decision of leaders is not the political culture here,” he added.