MCA stands to lose in Machap Jaya in the Nov 14 Malacca state election, whether Chinese voters revolt against Umno’s seat deal or accept it, says political scientist and Sunway University professor Prof Dr Wong Chin Huat.
He said a backlash from Chinese voters could cost MCA the seat, while accepting Umno’s decision to allocate seats previously contested by MCA to PAS would further expose the party’s declining influence within BN.
“In Machap Jaya, a revolt of Chinese voters may cause an upset. If that happens, Machap Jaya would go to PAS in future and MCA may or may not be compensated with another appointed seat.
“But if the MCA base just swallows Umno’s sell-out, Umno would see no wrongs in its decision. Either way, MCA has a bad deal,” he said in an interview.
Wong said MCA had lost much of its bargaining power since 2008 and that, after the 2018 general election, its electoral fortunes had become dependent on both Umno and PAS.
“When Umno wants to keep its own seats, despite getting weakened, and give MCA’s seats to PAS, MCA has no choice but to accept what was offered like a poor man accepting whatever charitable gifts from his patrons,” he said.
His remarks came amid MCA’s dispute with Barisan Nasional (BN) over seat allocations for the election, which was resolved with the party securing an additional seat, Bandar Hilir, bringing its total to three.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the allocation was finalised following discussions between BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and PAS and its allies.
Wong described MCA as “tragically trapped”, saying that leaving BN now in response to DAP’s calls would also be a dead end unless the party had a clear new direction.
“Surviving on appointed seats would cause MCA to lose much of its little remaining legitimacy as Chinese representatives,” he said.
He added that PAS replacing MCA in unwinnable DAP strongholds could become a new trend spreading elsewhere in future.
Wong also said DAP would face an uphill task in Gadek, Duyong and Pengkalan Batu, where the combined BN-PN vote in GE15 gave the two coalitions an advantage over Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“It would need some miracles to electrify the PH base and dishearten the Umno-PAS base for a DAP victory to be possible,” he said.
On Bemban, Wong said Bersatu would stand a better chance as the seat was won by the party in the 2021 state election and Malays make up about 62% of the electorate.
He said Bersatu and PH were avoiding contesting against each other so that one side would have a better chance while the other could concentrate its resources on more winnable constituencies.
Wong said it was “unlikely that the arrangement would anger PH supporters”, adding that the issue would not weigh as heavily on Chinese voters as PAS replacing MCA.
MCA will contest Machap Jaya and Klebang, the two seats it won in the 2021 Malacca state election, as well as Bandar Hilir, previously held by DAP. The party will field Malacca City Council councillor Jasmine HY Lok, 38, in Bandar Hilir, where Chinese voters make up about 73% of the electorate.
MCA’s dissatisfaction over the initial allocation came to a head on Oct 24, when Wee and other party leaders walked out of BN’s candidate announcement ceremony in protest, saying the seats had been allocated without proper consultation.
The party had initially agreed to contest only its two incumbent seats after discussions with Zahid before securing Bandar Hilir in further negotiations.
A Confidence and Supply Agreement (CSA) was signed on Oct 29 between the federal government and 13 opposition and independent MPs, comprising six Bersatu MPs, six former Bersatu MPs who are now independents, and Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman of MUDA.
Under the agreement, the MPs pledged to support Budget 2027 and the Anwar administration until the end of the current parliamentary term in exchange for constituency development allocations on the same basis as government backbenchers.
However, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the CSA was separate from any possible electoral cooperation between Bersatu and PH in Malacca.
Carolyn Khor is an independent journalist who contributes to several print and online publications. Selected articles from her archive are published here for Newswav readers.
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