KOTA KINABALU: MCA is planning to call on the Sabah Chief Minister to discuss its interest in some of the state seats in the 14th general election (GE14) before the party’s state convention on October 8, this year.
MCA deputy president Dato Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said he had already been briefed about the state cabinet’s approval of 13 additional seats in Sabah, but will ultimately leave the last word in the hands of the party leadership.
However, he maintained that MCA Sabah is working hard to do the Barisan Nasional right if entrusted with the Kapayan and Luyang state seats.
“We have to leave it to the party leadership because I will make a courtesy call on the Chief Minister of Sabah and my president, Datuk Seri Liow (Tiong Lai), will also have the same meeting before he can make the official request to the Prime Minister,” said Wee after an MCA closed door meeting at Tanjung Aru here yesterday.
“I think this is a standard procedure where we do not discuss openly, and we have to discuss in the spirit of Barisan Nasional (BN). I also think it is premature for us to say anything, but, of course, before the state convention, I will personally go and see the Chief Minister of Sabah as a courtesy and it is also the tradition for the state chairman to have discussion with the Chief Minister on issues that we want to bring up. So I think we will maintain this tradition and any issues that I need to bring up, I will just talk to the CM.
“Our state convention will be held on October 8, at Kian Kok High School,” he responded to The Borneo Post at the press conference.
Wee pointed out that close synergy with other component parties is important so that every component party can play their role.
“We know that we have been very aggressive, campaigning and working very hard on the ground, and we too want to get the support from the component parties. So I think we have to mutually work on something where we can bring more benefits to the people,” he explained.
“These (Kapayan and Luyang) are seats held by MCA so we have to make sure that these two seats, which have been given to us, will be retained and we will work hard for it,” added Wee.
The MCA deputy president revealed that among the topics discussed during the meeting yesterday was the preparation of the party for the two state constituencies in order to help BN win in the coming GE14.
Besides that, he also asked for MCA Sabah to send at least 120 members to attend the Chinese Community Patriotic Assembly on Malaysia Day, September 16, next month at PWTC, Kuala Lumpur.
After the meeting, Wee presented a RM200,000 cheque from Perfect Group founder Tan Sri Koo Yuen Kim to SJKC Pai Wen Ranau headmistress Ng Li King @ Goh.
He said MCA Penampang chief Datuk Francis Goh had been instrumental in seeking the donation for the school, which had been affected by the June 5, 2015 earthquake.
The Perfect Group, a China-based company started by the Malaysian entrepreneur, had donated RM500,000 for the school repairs and development.
Headmistress Ng said the money will go towards building eight school classrooms and four administrative rooms.
She revealed that another RM3.6 million is needed to rebuild the rest of SJKC Pai Wen Ranau.