KUALA LUMPUR: MCA has agreed to field a candidate in the Batu parliamentary seat in the Federal Territory while MIC will contest Padang Serai in Kedah.
MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said the consensus was reached with Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday.
"According to MCA's agreement, the Padang Serai parliamentary seat is handed over to MIC and the Batu parliamentary seat remains ours.
"All this is the result of discussions with the BN chairman. We need to clarify this situation to avoid confusion," he said at a special press conference at Wisma MCA here today.
Datuk Seri Yew Teong Look was announced as the candidate for the Batu parliamentary seat.
Yesterday, Datuk A. Kohilan Pillay was announced as the BN candidate for the Batu parliamentary seat.
In the last general election, the Batu parliamentary seat was won by an independent candidate supported by PKR, P Prabakaran with a majority of 24,438 votes in a four-cornered race, defeating Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai from Barisan Nasional (BN), Pas candidate Azhar Yahya and another independent candidate, Datuk V.M. Panjamothy.
Meanwhile, Wee said MCA accepted that the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat would be contested by Umno candiate Shafie Abdullah.
"The exchange is not an issue, we follow what has been discussed and accept this decision on the principle of friendship and will work hard to help achieve victory together," he said.
Wee said there would be 44 MCA candidates running for Parliamentary seats and 26 for state seats. Thirty-five of these candidates will make their electoral debut.
"Among the 44 candidates for parliamentary seats, 17 new faces and seven women were introduced. In fact, two of our candidates are under 30 years old. They will stand in Ampang and Kulai.
Wee said of the 26 state seats candidates, 17 would run in Perak, seven in Pahang and two in Perlis.
"At the state level, there will be a total of 18 new faces and five women candidates," he said. – Bernama