DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook has described MCA as the “biggest loser” under the electoral understanding between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the Negeri Sembilan state election, claiming the party had given up three seats traditionally associated with it.
Speaking to reporters after a walkabout with DAP candidates at Pasar Besar Seremban, Loke said MCA had effectively ceded Lobak, Mambau and Lukut to PN in exchange for straight fights in other constituencies.
He said the arrangement would have worked almost perfectly if not for Bersatu contesting against MCA in several seats.
“I want to thank Wee Ka Siong for being so generous. For me, I admit that if we were in the same position, our party might not be as generous,” Loke said jokingly.
“Even if we lost our traditional seats, we would still contest them. So this arrangement appears to be very generous. It is up to MCA members to judge.”
MCA defends electoral strategy
Loke said Lobak, Mambau and Lukut remained significant to both MCA and DAP, noting that Lobak has the highest proportion of Chinese voters in the state, while Lukut and Mambau were previously represented by senior MCA leaders.
Under the BN-PN electoral understanding, BN is contesting 25 seats while PN is contesting the remaining 11, with no overlap.
The three constituencies, which are currently DAP strongholds, were among the seats allocated to PN. MCA is contesting seven seats, mostly in straight contests, except in Nilai, Temiang and Rahang, where Bersatu candidates are also in the race.
MCA president Wee Ka Siong previously said the party decided not to contest Lobak, Mambau and Lukut based on electoral considerations after failing to win the seats in the past three elections.
He said MCA chose to focus its resources on constituencies where it believed it had stronger prospects, while acknowledging that the decision could be viewed as benefiting DAP.
BN-PN pact remains PH’s biggest challenge
Despite criticising the arrangement, Loke acknowledged that the BN-PN cooperation posed Pakatan Harapan’s biggest challenge in the Negeri Sembilan election.
He said the electoral understanding was designed to avoid vote splitting among Malay voters while allowing vote transfers between BN and PN candidates.
“Nevertheless, we will continue to put up a strong fight in every seat, and PH still has a chance of winning a majority of seats in Negeri Sembilan. We will continue campaigning as one team,” he said.
