00:01MCA leaders walked out of Barisan National's candidate naming event on Saturday for the upcoming Melaka state election,
00:09protesting against seat allocations made without the party's consent.
00:13MCA President Datuk Sri Dr Wee Ka Seong said seats previously contested by MCA had been allocated to other parties
00:21without proper consultation,
00:23leaving the party feeling sidelined, despite being a long-standing Barisan component party.
00:28He said MCA deserved to be treated with dignity and would not accept decisions being made on its behalf without
00:35its agreement.
00:36Dr Wee made the remarks after he, MCA Deputy President Datuk Dr Ma Hang-sun,
00:42and leaders from six MCA divisions in Melaka walked out of the event at the Melaka International Trade Centre.
00:49He said Barisan's Executive Secretary had informed him on Friday night
00:53that the event would only involve the launch of the election machinery, with no candidates to be announced.
00:59However, upon arriving at the venue, Dr Wee was told that candidates were expected to be announced.
01:05He later discovered that the program included a candidate announcement segment
01:09and questioned the Barisan leadership over the change.
01:13He said MCA had already objected to the proposed seat allocation
01:17and had formally conveyed its disagreement to Barisan in a letter on Friday.
01:22Dr Wee stressed that the walkout was not intended to boycott the event,
01:26but to make clear that MCA would not accept decisions made without proper consultation.
01:32He called on Barisan's central leadership to resolve the dispute,
01:35adding that there was still time to address the situation before nomination day.
01:39Asked whether MCA would withdraw from contesting in Melaka, Dr Wee said no decision had been made
01:46and the party would assess developments over the next two to three days.
