MCA says agreement reached on MIC seat swap for Batu

MCA today said it had agreed to exchange the Batu parliamentary seat in the federal territory with MIC.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said the consensus was reached with Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday.

"According to MCA's agreement, the Padang Serai parliamentary seat will be handed over to MIC and the Batu parliamentary seat will remain ours.

"All this is the result of discussions with the BN chairman. We need to clarify this situation to avoid confusion," he said in a special press conference at Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur today.

At the press conference, Yew Teong Look was announced as the candidate for the Batu parliamentary seat.
 
Yesterday, A Kohilan Pillay was named as the BN candidate for the Batu parliamentary seat at the BN candidate announcement.

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.

Prabakaran defeated Dominic Lau Hoe Chai of BN, PAS candidate Azhar Yahya and another independent candidate, VM Panjamothy.

Wee said MCA accepted the change of Wangsa Maju parliamentary candidate with an open heart after it was agreed on by the BN leadership.

"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.