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

MCA president Wee Ka Siong and Melaka DAP chief Khoo Poay Tiong exchanged harsh criticisms today regarding their respective coalition’s electoral agreements for the upcoming Melaka elections, resulting in both parties having to relinquish seats. Khoo argued that MCA had forfeited its dignity by submitting to Umno and PAS during seat negotiations, while Wee claimed that DAP should reflect on losing the Bemban seat to Bersatu.

Wee asserted that MCA had anticipated a decrease in seat allocation for the Nov 14 election, as compromises are inevitable when forming alliances with political parties. He emphasized that MCA had previously agreed to forfeit seats in the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan polls when Barisan Nasional cooperated with Perikatan Nasional. Wee questioned why DAP had surrendered the Bemban seat to Bersatu after initially stating its intention to contest the mixed seat, which remained unexplained.

Khoo countered by stating that DAP had always maintained that it would contest seven seats, excluding Bemban, as part of its election strategy. He clarified that DAP's predicament differed from MCA's, as the PH component only ceded one seat, while MCA lost three.