Melaka state election: MCA to contest four seats

MELAKA – MCA will contest four seats in the 16th Melaka state election after last-minute negotiations between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), bringing BN's overall seat allocation to 23.

The party will field incumbents Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem in Machap Jaya and Datuk Lim Ban Hong in Klebang, while introducing new candidates Jasmine Lok Huey Yee in Bandar Hilir and Melvin Chua Kew Wei in Kota Laksamana.

In Machap Jaya, Ngwe will take on Datuk Ginie Lim Siew Lin of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Prasanth Kumar Brakasam of Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama).

The Machap Jaya constituency has a total of 16,030 registered voters. In the 2021 state election, Ngwe retained the seat for BN with 3,732 votes, securing a majority of 938.

Klebang will see Lim challenged by PH’s Farzana Hayani Mohd Nasir of PKR, Datuk Seri Mohamad Ali Mohamad of Bersatu and Young Jie Yu of Bersama.

Lim regained the Klebang seat in the 2021 Melaka state election with an 876-vote majority, defeating Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidates in a three-way contest.

In Bandar Hilir, MCA's Jasmine Lok, a Melaka Historic City Council councillor, will take on incumbent Leng Chau Yen, who is defending the seat for DAP under Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Bersama candidate Mohd Nor Rashidi Ab Jalil.

Kota Laksamana will see MCA's Melvin Chua, the chief whip of MCA councillors at the Melaka Historic City Council, face incumbent Low Chee Leong of DAP and Bersama's Lim Zhi Hao.

The latest allocation follows a dispute on Oct 24, when MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and other party leaders staged a walkout during BN's candidate announcement at the Melaka International Trade Centre.

The party had initially been allocated only Machap Jaya and Klebang, prompting dissatisfaction over the distribution of seats previously contested by MCA and what its leaders described as a lack of proper consultation.

Further negotiations subsequently secured Bandar Hilir, followed by Kota Laksamana after PN agreed to give way to an MCA candidate.

Wee said the decision to field Chua was made after discussions between BN and PN, taking into account his involvement and services in the constituency.

“This decision was only made and agreed upon by the party’s top leadership, following the decision to return the seat to an MCA candidate representing BN in the Kota Laksamana state constituency, after taking into consideration his suitability based on his involvement and services in the area,” he said.

Melaka BN chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh, meanwhile, said the additional seats were not secured through political pressure, but followed assessments of candidates' winnability and the electoral landscape.

“We resolved it through a family-oriented approach. Our sense of togetherness has lasted more than 70 years,” he said.

The four-seat allocation marks a change from MCA's initial position in the coalition's line-up, following the party's objections to the original arrangement.

In the 2021 Melaka state election, MCA contested seven seats under BN and won two, namely Machap Jaya and Klebang.

MCA lost the remaining five seats it contested – Ayer Keroh, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana, Bandar Hilir and Bemban – to candidates from PH and PN.

The Election Commission has set Nov 14 as polling day for the 16th Melaka state election, with early voting scheduled for Nov 10, while campaigning will run until 11.59pm on Nov 13.

The election involves 28 seats, with a simple majority of 15 needed to form the state government and 19 seats required for a two-thirds majority.

In 2021, BN won 21 seats, PH secured five and PN won two.