DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook has described MCA as the “biggest loser” in the seat arrangement between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) for the Negeri Sembilan state election.
Loke said MCA had given up three traditionally associated seats, namely Lobak, Mambau and Lukut, to PN as part of the agreement, despite the constituencies having historical significance for the party.
He claimed the arrangement almost worked in PN’s favour, but the presence of Bersatu candidates affected the coalition’s strategy in certain seats.
According to Loke, the three constituencies remain important to both MCA and DAP, with Lobak recording the highest percentage of Chinese voters among state seats, while Lukut and Mambau were previously represented by senior MCA leaders.
“I want to thank Wee Ka Siong for being so generous. I admit that if we were in the same position, our party may not have been as generous,” he said jokingly after attending a walkabout with DAP candidates at Pasar Besar Seremban.
He added that even if a party faced difficulties in traditional seats, it would normally continue contesting them, leaving MCA members to evaluate the decision.
Under the BN-PN arrangement, BN will contest 25 seats while PN will contest 11 seats in the 36-seat Negeri Sembilan state assembly.
MCA is contesting seven seats in the election, with most involving straight fights, except in Nilai, Temiang and Rahang where Bersatu candidates are also taking part.
MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong previously explained that the decision not to contest Lobak, Mambau and Lukut was based on election strategy, as the party had failed to secure victories in those seats over the past three elections.
He said MCA had decided to concentrate its resources on seats with higher chances of winning, although the move could be viewed as benefiting DAP.
Meanwhile, Loke acknowledged that the BN-PN cooperation would be a major challenge for Pakatan Harapan (PH), as the arrangement aims to avoid vote splitting and strengthen support transfer between both coalitions.
However, he said PH would continue fighting strongly in every constituency and remained confident of securing a majority of seats in Negeri Sembilan.
