KUALA LUMPUR: Parties within the Barisan Nasional coalition should be prioritised, not Pakatan Harapan - particularly DAP, says Datuk Chong Sin Woon to Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamid.
The MCA secretary-general has urged the Barisan chairman to focus on taking care of the coalition's component parties, instead of other political partners.
"As Barisan chairman, Ahmad Zahid should take care and prioritise the interests of its component parties, instead of Pakatan Harapan, particularly DAP," he added in a statement on Monday (May 22).
ALSO READ : State polls: Penang Pakatan, Barisan complete second round of seat negotiations
Chong was commenting on Ahmad Zahid's statement that Umno members were finding it hard to accept DAP as a partner in the unity government.
The Deputy Prime Minister was reported saying that he faced a challenging task to "persuade" its members to accept the once rival political party, DAP.
He, however, said he was willing to explain the cooperation between Umno and DAP to the party members.
In his statement, Chong also urged Ahmad Zahid to stick to the principles and be careful in all matters related to the cooperation between Barisan and Pakatan while emphasising that the relationship and collaboration should be two-way and of mutual benefit.
He said all opinions and views of MCA should come from the party leaders, particularly the president, not anyone else.
ALSO READ : Seat negotiations for state elections underway, says Dr Wee
A similar call had come from Penang MCA chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng, who said that seat allocation talks for the state polls between the two coalitions should include all component parties.
He made the statement after state Pakatan chairman Chow Kon Yeow revealed that the pact would meet Umno representatives to discuss seat allocations last month.
Tan, who is also MCA vice-president, said such a meeting was not in line with the spirit of the unity government.
He said such important discussions should include every component party in order to maintain the integrity and trust between the parties.
And Penang Barisan chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir agreed to this.
"Definitely Barisan, including MCA, will be in the discussions," he added.
For a start, the seat negotiations between Barisan and Pakatan focused on the Malay areas, so it only involved PKR, Amanah and Umno, he said.
"After that, we will discuss with MCA and MIC. There is no problem," he added.
