MCA will not recognise any of its candidates announced by Barisan Nasional (BN) for the Nov 14 Melaka state election without the party’s top leadership’s approval, president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said.
Wee said announcing candidates without consultation and the party’s consent was unacceptable, particularly when seats previously contested by MCA had allegedly been allocated to other parties.
He also claimed MCA had not been informed beforehand that BN’s event at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Saturday night would include the announcement of candidates, saying the party had been told it was merely the launch of the coalition’s election machinery.
“Even if they announce them, we will not recognise them. If the MCA chairman himself has not signed off on it, how can it be recognised?
“Candidates must come from nominations by the party’s top leadership. This is the standard operating procedure (SOP) of every political party,” he told Chinese-language newspaper reporters, with a translation subsequently shared with the media.
Wee and MCA leaders walked out of the event before BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi delivered his keynote address and announced the candidates. They later held a press conference outside the hall.
Wee said MCA had been a longstanding partner of Umno for decades, adding that the events of the night risked creating the impression that MCA would simply remain silent and give way to others.
He stressed that MCA was a party with its own dignity and principles.
Asked whether MCA would therefore sit out the state election, Wee said several days remained before nomination day and expressed hope that the dispute could still be resolved.
He said MCA leaders were dissatisfied because negotiations over seat allocation in Melaka had not been finalised, including discussions involving two seats previously contested by the party.
Wee called on BN’s central leadership to intervene and resolve the dispute fairly, stressing that decisions concerning MCA candidates should not be made unilaterally.
BN announced candidates for 21 of the 28 state assembly seats it will contest in the election, with MCA allocated two seats.
The party’s candidates are incumbent Machap Jaya assemblyman Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem and incumbent Klebang assemblyman Datuk Lim Ban Hong.
MCA contested seven seats in the 2021 Melaka state election but has been allocated only two for the upcoming polls, making the reduction a central point of contention in the dispute. - October 25, 2026