KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — MCA said today it is ready to face the imminent Tanjung Piai by-election, with former MP Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng indicating his commitment to lead the party’s campaign there.
Despite that, the Barisan Nasional (BN) component said the decision on the candidate will only be decided collectively by the coalition, amid calls from the Umno-PAS pact to contest the seat traditionally held by MCA.
“I was pressured by reporters asking whether MCA will place a candidate or not.
“But I remain with my stand that the issue of candidacy will be announced after a collective decision is made through the BN supreme council,” MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said in a statement.
“What is certain, BN will work hard to conquer Tanjung Piai!” he added.
Wee said MCA deputy president Datuk Mah Hang Soon will head the campaign at the national level, while its Johor chapter’s deputy chairman Datuk Lim Pay Hen will do so at a state level.
Jeck Seng will be in charge at the division level.
Separately, Wee said former deputy education minister and former MCA Youth chief Datuk Chong Sin Woon has been appointed as the new party secretary-general.
The post was previously held by Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik, the Tanjung Piai MP and deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, died after suffering a heart attack in his hometown of Serkat in Tanjung Piai, near Pontian.
Jeck Seng had contested the seat for three general elections, but lost in the 14th general election by a mere 524-vote majority.
Earlier this week, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin urged Umno and PAS to avoid being trapped in narrow “political thinking”, saying they should not resort to fielding an MCA candidate just to prove their support for multicultural politics.
