Wee, Khoo trade barbs over ‘dignity’, losing seats to partners

MCA president Wee Ka Siong and Melaka DAP chief Khoo Poay Tiong engaged in a verbal exchange over their respective coalition's electoral decisions for the Melaka polls. Khoo criticized MCA for submitting to Umno and PAS in seat talks, claiming it resulted in a loss of dignity for the party. Wee, on the other hand, argued that DAP should reflect on losing the Bemban seat to Bersatu.

Wee stated that MCA had anticipated a reduction in seat allocation for the upcoming election, as compromises are inevitable when forming alliances. He added that MCA had previously agreed to give up some seats in exchange for cooperation with its partners in previous polls. Wee questioned why DAP had given up Bemban to Bersatu, given the party's initial intention to contest the mixed seat.

Khoo defended DAP's decision, stating that it had only contested seven seats, excluding Bemban, as part of its election strategy. He noted that DAP's situation differed from MCA's, as the PH component only relinquished one seat, while MCA lost three. Khoo also pointed out that nearly half of the seats Bersatu is contesting overlap with PH, implying that Wee's reference to an "agreement with Bersatu" might not be entirely accurate.

Despite some DAP grassroots being unhappy about giving up Bemban to Bersatu, Khoo urged them to understand the necessity of the painful decision and emphasized that DAP had to consider PH's broader electoral strategy.