KUALA LUMPUR: Hardware store owner Tan Chee Teong has no fear when it comes to business but he appeared nervous when swarmed by the media.

The 40-year-old father of three has been named the MCA candidate for the Balakong by-election.

To begin with, MCA, which contested the seat in the 14th General Election, lost its deposit.

Ng died in a road accident on July 20, paving the way for the by-election.

Lim only polled 5,875 votes in the constituency with over 60% Chinese voters.

“I will do my best to help all the people in the constituency, and I hope they can give me a chance to do so,” Tan told reporters at Wisma MCA here after party deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong announced his candidacy yesterday.

Dr Wee said the party would do its best to convince the voters why they should give MCA a chance to represent them.

While no candidate goes to the polls with defeat in mind, Dr Wee conceded that wresting the seat would be an extremely uphill task.

“We are talking about (the late) Ng Tien Chee winning with a 35,000-plus majority and this is huge,” he said.

Dr Wee also pointed out that an additional seat for the opposition in the 56-seat Selangor assembly would be good for more check and balance.

There are only five assemblymen from the opposition and the rest are from Pakatan Harapan.

Describing Tan as an activist and grassroots man, Dr Wee said Tan, who was born and bred in Balakong and continues to stay there, would make a good representative as he knew the place well.

Apart from running his business, Tan is also a committee member in the Serdang MCA and actively involved in local non-government organisations.

Tan and MCA leaders are expected to announce more details on the by-election today.

This by-election is significant for MCA as the 69-year-old party is using its party logo for the first time.

The MCA, together with Umno and MIC, formed the Alliance and fought and achieved independence for the nation in 1957.

The Alliance expanded and accepted other parties into its fold and was renamed as Barisan Nasional in 1973.

The 14th GE saw Barisan lost its grip on the government for the first time since independence.

MCA – the second largest Barisan component party – won only one Parliament and two state seats.

In tandem with its effort to “reform, walk its own path and walk the path of all people” after the huge defeat, MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai announced last Friday that the party would use its party logo for the Balakong by-election.

Nomination for the Balakong by-election is on Aug 18 and polling is on Sept 8.

-The Star-