JOHOR BARU: MCA wrested four state seats from its rival party in Pakatan Harapan in Saturday's Johor polls thanks to voter support which swung up to 50 per cent to its favour in certain constituencies.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the party performed much better in Johor this time around as compared to the last election held four years ago.
"We (MCA) wrested some seats (from the opposition). And these seats comprised those in which we had lost for two terms in the past.
"These were seats in which (MCA) had previously been defeated with quite big majorities. However, this time around, we won these seats. We won with a 2,700-vote majority in some of these seats.
"If we look at the total vote count, we can see that we obtained half of the total votes in several seats that (MCA) won," Wee told reporters at the Johor BN and Johor Umno headquarters in Jalan Yahya Awal, Johor Baru late on Saturday night.
MCA wrested four seats from DAP in the state polls, namely Bekok, Paloh, Yong Peng and Pekan Nanas.
The party, which is a Barisan Nasional component, contested in a total of 15 seats.
A glance through the results for Saturday's state polls showed that MCA wrested seats which were held by DAP for durations of between one and two terms.
In Yong Peng, MCA's Ling Tian Soon wrested the seat from with a 2,741-vote majority against DAP, which had held the seat for two terms.
Ling beat Alan Tee Boon Tsong (DAP) and Susan Yong (PN).
In Bekok, MCA candidate Tan Chong won with a 3,569-vote majority beating DAP's M. Kanan, Tan Lek Khang (PN) and Sandara Segaran Arumugam (Parti Warisan).
Bekok had been held by DAP for the past two terms.
In Paloh, MCA's Lee Ting Han won with a 3,176-vote majority beating the DAP one-term incumbent, Sheikh Omar Bagharib Ali, Selvendran Velu (PN) and Aminuddin Johari (Pejuang).
In Pekan Nanas, MCA's Tan Eng Meng won with a 4,835-vote majority beating DAP's two-term incumbent, Yeo Tung Siong, Datuk Tan Chin Hock (PN) and Hishamuddin Busri (Warisan).
Meanwhile, Wee, who is transport minister and Ayer Hitam MP, thanked Johor voters for giving an opportunity to MCA candidates to become their new elected representatives at the state assembly.
He said the party was buoyed by Saturday's victory as it meant that MCA was on its way to overcome its previous losses in elections.
"The win is motivation for the party to continue working hard. These victories are responsibilities bestowed upon us. MCA's central and state leadership will conduct specific analysis of the polls results so that we can move forward," he said.
Earlier, Wee and the four newly-elected state assemblymen from MCA bowed in front of cameras as a gesture of thanks to voters for their victory.
BN won a total 40 out of the 56 state seats in the Johor polls, giving it a two-third majority to form a state government.
