MCA has identified 90% of the coordinators in parliamentary seats and state constituencies in the hope of achieving success in the coming general election, its party secretary-general Chong Sin Woon said. 

The party will be contesting 40 parliamentary seats and 90 state seats. Identifying coordinators in advance means the party will not be left in a lurch at the last minute, he said. These coordinators are likely to become the candidates in the seats, but the final decision will be made by Barisan Nasional (BN). 

“The coordinator is not yet a candidate and still needs to be tested and assessed,” he said. 

MCA has appointed coordinators to work in constituencies to gauge their performance and acceptance by the public, Chong, who is the coordinator for Raub, Pahang, said.

Umno and MIC are doing this now, too, he said. 

With only four parties in BN, he said this leaves more seats for Umno, MCA and MIC. The fourth party is the Sabah-based Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS). 

When asked whether MCA will take over Gerakan’s seats, Chong said this will be discussed during seat allocation talks. 

MCA will however contest in all Chinese-majority seats as Umno and MIC have no desire to do so, he said.

“For example, in Penang, 60% to 70% of the voters are Chinese, (so) Umno and MIC won’t contest here. For mixed seats, we must all negotiate. 

“We will try to maintain existing seats and then discuss whether there is an opportunity to exchange constituencies with others.

“After Gerakan left (BN), we had more seats in the peninsula and more room for discussion.”

In the last general election, the party contested 39 parliamentary seats and won one. Of the 90 state seats it contested, it won only two. 

Selection criteria for candidates 

Chong said MCA has many young, potential candidates. 

MCA’s decision to field two young candidates, Lim Thien Soon in Yong Peng and Lee Ting Han in Paloh in the recent Johor elections had proven effective, Chong said. 

“MCA has many young candidates but none of them were elected, unlike DAP. So there is no way to showcase them.”

Chong said MCA has set the basic requirement for candidates to be trilingual and have at least a bachelor’s degree to run for parliamentary seats.

“They must have good communication skills and hold at least a bachelor’s degree.” 

In addition to language and education level, Chong said their ability to win must also be considered. – August 18, 2022.