The dispute among MCA grassroot over MCA’s decision to field Wong Nai Chee as the candidate for Alor Gajah parliament seat has only escalated. As reported, few central leaders of MCA have stated that disciplinary action against those who are involved in the rally held to protest the decision will be considered.
According to Wong’s response, fielding him as the candidate of Alor Gajah parliament seat is a strategy to maximise both BN’s and MCA’s electoral prospect.
This however raises my doubt.
The proposed strategy, which is fielding Wong Nai Chee as the candidate of the parliament seat and sending the incumbent Koh Nai Kwong to Melaka state seat, does not gel well with the name MCA crowned Alor Gajah with - the safest MCA seat in Malaysia. Due to Alor Gajah’s voters composition and its geographical characteristics (being semi-urban), despite losing support from majority of Malaysian Chinese voters, MCA could still rely on non-Chinese votes and win.
The upcoming general election is no doubt the toughest battle for MCA. MCA’s president Liow Tiong Lai’s Bentong seat, deputy president Wee Ka Siong’s Ayer Hitam seat, as well as secretary general Ong Ka Chuan’s Tanjong Malim seat - they all risk losing to Pakatan Harapan in the coming general election.
As the political secretary of PM Najib, as well as the only MCA candidate who had ever won Kota Melaka parliament seat since 1969, should MCA at least explain why is sending Wong Nai Chee to contest in the “MCA’s safest seat” a “strategy to maximise electoral prospect"?
I have 3 questions on the MCA Alor Gajah episode:
1) Is fielding Wong Nai Chee for Alor Gajah parliament seat an indicator of PM Najib’s inconfidence in other MCA leaders for the upcoming general election? Is PM Najib trying to ensure the survival of his own men to form the next generation of MCA leadership?
2) Will MCA man up and protest Najib’s decision of fielding Wong Nai Chee in Alor Gajah, after seeing strong unease among the grassroots?
3) If Koh Nai Kwong and other grassroot leaders are not happy with the decision, shouldn’t they convey it to the prime minister directly? Do they actually expect MCA to have the courage to protest the decision alongside Koh Nai Kwong?