THE Tanjung Piai Umno division is looking to run for the Pekan Nanas state seat, which has been traditionally contested by its Barisan Nasional (BN) ally MCA.

Division chief Jefridin Atan said MCA should give way to Umno for the coming Johor elections as the Malay party stands a better chance of winning the seat.

The Pekan Nanas seat falls under the Tanjung Piai parliamentary area, which is held by MCA’s Wee Jeck Seng. The other state seat in this parliamentary constituency is Kukup, which is held by Umno.

The Pekan Nanas state seat was won by DAP in a straight fight with MCA in the last general election.

Jefridin said Umno would be able to win the Pekan Nanas seat as the Malay electorate has now reached almost 60% in the constituency.

He also said that the voters in the areas have rejected MCA candidates twice – in the 2013 and 2018 general elections.

“Pekan Nanas is a Malay-majority seat. MCA lost here twice. And we hear that MCA wants to name the same candidate again… If that is the case, BN is most likely to lose a third time.

“If we think MCA will fail, it is better to give Umno the chance to contest, maybe people will accept,” Jefridin told The Malaysian Insight.

He said that with the addition of new and young voters with Undi18 in effect, Malay voters in the Tanjung Piai parliamentary constituency have increased to 40,000 (57% of the population) while the Chinese voters stand at 28,000 (30%).

Jefridin said his party is worried that BN would lose the Pekan Nanas seat a third time if MCA put its candidate back in the seat.

He said MCA should stop using the traditional seat concept argument in wanting to contest in Pekan Nanas.

He said the practice is no longer relevant given the changes in terms of demographics and voter demands.

“The question of seats must be given for voters to decide, not traditional seats anymore, I do not agree with the concept of traditional seats.

“If the same person is the candidate every time, people will get fed up, people want change. We cannot force people to accept the same figure when people are already making noise and rejecting,” he said.

Moreover, Jefridin said, there are rumors that Warisan, led by Mohd Shafie Apdal, also wants to field a Malay candidate in the seat.

“There are more and more parties contesting in the election. Here, we heard Warisan wants to enter and field a Malay candidate.

“What is it that the Malay voters of Pekan Nanas want? Maybe they want Malay candidates, but we can’t force them to choose the same person. In the end, they might end up giving to DAP, and so on.

“MCA has already lost twice, why do you want to contest a third time?” said the senator.

The Pekan Nanas state seat was MCA’s traditional seat until the party lost for the first time to DAP in 2013 and again in the 2018 general election.

In the 14th general election, DAP candidate Yeo Tung Seong retained the seat by defeating MCA’s Tan Eng Meng with a majority of 1,308 votes.

DAP has been contesting this seat since 2004, but only won it the previous two general elections.

“I’m not being hard on MCA; I am just talking sense. We have lost twice and still want to contest again? We want to find a candidate who can win and can control the state government if we are strong.

“We want to return the Pekan Nanas seat to the BN government, that’s all,” stressed Jefridin.

He said Umno would not demand the seat if MCA is accepted by the Pekan Nanas voters.

He cited the examples of the Kahang and Tenggaroh state seats, where Umno was willing to allow MIC to contest despite Malay voters being the majority in these seats.

Apart from Pekan Nanas, Umno is also reported to have claimed the Pulai Sebatang seat from MCA.

The constituency has a Malay population of more than 60%, and has been traditionally contested by MCA.

In the last general election, MCA candidate Tee Siew Keong lost to Amanah’s Muhammad Taqiuddin Cheman in a three-cornered fight.

The Johor election is on March 12. – February 19, 2022.