Malacca polls: MCA gets third seat after BN-PN talks, picks Bandar Hilir candidate

The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) has secured an additional seat to contest in the upcoming Melaka state election on November 14, 2023. In a press conference, MCA president Wee Ka Siong revealed that the party will field Jasmine Lok, a 38-year-old Melaka city councillor, to challenge the DAP stronghold of Bandar Hilir. Prior to this announcement, Barisan Nasional (BN) had allocated 21 seats for its candidates, but following discussions between BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN), a BN-led alliance for the Melaka polls, the party will now contest 22 seats.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi presented Lok with her letter of appointment, officially designating her as their candidate for Bandar Hilir. This move means that PN will only contest six seats in the state election. Wee emphasized that PN is willing to let MCA contest this seat as it is a traditional one they have always contested, with MCA being familiar to voters in the area and having a local councillor serving in Bandar Hilir.

Bandar Hilir falls under the Kota Melaka parliamentary constituency, another seat where MCA has a strong presence. Lok, who is running for election for the first time, is the Melaka MCA information chief and has been serving as a Melaka city local councillor since 2022. The Chinese-majority electorate in Bandar Hilir is 73%, with the DAP having won the seat first, and MCA holding it from 1982 to 1995.

Since then, DAP has maintained a firm grip on the constituency, winning with a 7,778-vote majority in the 2021 polls. Last week, Wee led an MCA walkout when BN unveiled its candidates for the state polls, expressing dissatisfaction that the Chinese-based component was not consulted about the seat allocation. After further discussions with Zahid and other BN leaders, Wee later announced that MCA would contest just the two seats.