MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the eight, who mostly are new faces, are part of Barisan Nasional's (BN) strategy to win over the hearts of voters and bring a breath of fresh air to the party's leadership.
"All candidates are chosen based on their contribution and compatibility with the local community, and as youth, they have great potential," he said at a media conference here today.
Wee expressed his hope that the strategy of swapping seats with UMNO, that allowed Indera Mahkota MCA chief Datuk Quek Tai Seong to contest the Indera Mahkota parliamentary seat will allow BN to retake the seat.
During the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018, MCA was given the Kuantan seat to contest while UMNO contested the Indera Mahkota seat, but both candidates lost to their PKR rivals.
This GE15, the Kuantan seat will be contested by Kuantan UMNO chief Datuk Ab Hamid Mohd Nazahar.
Besides Quek, secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon will stand in Raub while six other candidates are contesting various state seats.
Five of them are new faces, Wong Yap Wah in Tanah Rata, Lim Teck Hoe (Tras), Wong Tze Shiang (Mentakab), Wong Siew Mun (Bilut) and Yee Cheng Hwa (Triang) while Tee Choon Ser is contesting for a second time in Teruntum.
-- BERNAMA
