Chong said the party, which currently has two seats, will focus on constituencies where it has strong grassroots support, credible candidates, and functional machinery, instead of repeating its past strategy of contesting a large number of seats with limited resources.
“If there is space for us to contest on our own, we will contest as many seats as we can, but we must be realistic and assess our strength,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with Utusan Malaysia.
“If we can at least return to our previous strength of seven MPs, that would be a good starting point for a comeback. We are not setting unrealistic targets.”
MCA last held seven parliamentary seats following the 2018 general election. These dropped to two in 2022 – Ayer Hitam, held by party president Wee Ka Siong, and Tanjung Piai, held by vice-president Wee Jeck Seng.
A long-time partner of Umno in the independence movement and a key founding member of Barisan Nasional, MCA has historically been the main voice for Chinese interests within Umno-led coalitions. However, its influence has steadily declined since the 2008 political tsunami.
MCA’s options for survival
Chong said MCA has been weighing several options for survival, including contesting independently under the party logo, joining a third political force, or accepting overtures from Perikatan Nasional which has repeatedly offered MCA its traditional BN seats.
He said the most popular sentiment among members is to go solo, but MCA must assess whether it has enough support from the Chinese community to make this move feasible.
“Can we create a wave as Warisan did, which wiped out DAP in all urban seats in Sabah? If MCA can create such a wave, that would be the best move,” he said.
Chong also warned that MCA cannot wait for Umno to clarify its collaboration with DAP, saying delays could trap the party in a difficult position ahead of the elections.
“That is exactly why I feel we must make a decision at the BN Supreme Council meeting. But even if Umno decides ‘no DAP’, can we be sure that decision will not be reversed again, as happened before?” he said.
At its recent annual general meeting, MCA delegates passed a resolution that it will quit BN if any BN component party works with DAP in the next general election.