BUTTERWORTH – MCA needs to win a substantial number of seats in Penang first before they can decide who the party will nominate as the next chief minister of the state, party president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said.
Speaking after the Penang MCA convention last night, Wee said this was only pragmatic.
“I do not want to be drawn into this meaningless discussion. Let us win first then we talk about who should be in the state exco or be the chief minister,” he said.
MCA is expected to contest at least 20 state seats in Penang, now that former Barisan Nasional (BN) ally Gerakan has withdrawn from the coalition. This has paved the way for MCA to become BN’s dominant party in the state, provided it can win.
In the last general election in 2018, Penang BN contested 40 state and 13 parliamentary seats.
Of these, 10 state and four parliamentary seats were allocated to MCA, 15 state and four parliamentary seats were for Gerakan, 15 state and five federal seats were for Umno, and two state seats went to MIC.
With Gerakan out of BN, Wee in his speech when launching the MCA state convention said the party is ready to contest the former’s seats.
But that remains to be seen given speculations that newcomer Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) could replace Gerakan’s multiracial party role in BN. PBM has applied to join the coalition and is waiting for approval.
Penang PBM chairman Alan Ow has said previously that it prefers to align with BN and contest in Gerakan seats.
MCA meanwhile, is also planning to field more young professionals in Penang to counter DAP’s advantage of a three-term incumbency here.
“I see many youngsters coming to join us. Together with a few veterans who are dedicated, they can revive the fortunes of the party here,” Wee said.
For GE15, he said MCA will adopt an underdog stance, stressing to voters the need for checks and balances against a DAP state government, Wee added.
“We can also prove ourselves as the opposition in Penang.”
MCA’s late Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee was the first Penang chief minister before the post was taken over by Gerakan until 2008 when DAP captured the state with PKR.
Lim Guan Eng, the current DAP chairman, was chief minister until 2018 when his successor Chow Kon Yeow, the party vice-president, took over the reins and remains the incumbent.
Traditionally, the post is reserved for a Chinese because the ethnic group is dominant in Penang, but of late, there has also been a substantial rise in the number of Malay voters in the state, mainly on the Prai mainland. – The Vibes, September 11, 2022
