KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — MCA targets to contest eight parliamentary seats and 17 state seats in Selangor in the 15th general election (GE15) to recapture the state from the Opposition.

Selangor MCA said that the prospective candidates for the targeted seats have been identified, with 70 per cent of them coming from the party’s Youth wing, The Malaysian Insight reported.

Quoting a party insider, the report said that MCA will be contesting the Bangi, Klang, Selayang, Pandan, Petaling Jaya, Damansara, Ampang and Puchong parliamentary seats.

The targeted state seats are Sekinchan, Kuala Kubu Baharu, Rawang, Kajang, Balakong, Seri Kembangan, Kinrara, Subang Jaya, Kampung Tunku, Bandar Utama, Bandar Baru Klang, Pandamaran, Banting, Sungai Pelek, Bukit Gasing, Teratai and Kota Kemuning.

The source said that Barisan Nasional’s (BN) main focus is to attract Malay and Chinese votes, which are equally important.

"Whether BN wins more seats in Selangor will also depend on MCA’s performance,” the source was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Selangor MCA liaison committee chairman Ng Chok Sin confirmed that 70 per cent of candidates will be from the Youth wing.

Ng also pointed out that in the last election, Selangor MCA contested for 14 state and eight parliamentary seats.

However, he said that seat allocation is expected to increase for the next poll with the final decision from Barisan Nasional (BN).

"Selangor MCA has appointed coordinators for each seat and the coordinators have been actively serving in the constituency.

"We are hoping to narrow the majority gap and ensure that our election deposit will not be lost again,” Ng was reported saying.

However, he said that BN must first introduce a "poster boy” to lead Selangor.

In the previous Melaka and Johor polls, MCA managed to secured a total of six seats, which predominantly has Malay voters.

In Melaka, MCA won the Kelebang seat which has 67 per cent Malays, 31 per cent Chinese and two per cent Indian voters and also the Machap Jaya seat, which has a Malay majority of 44 per cent, Chinese (40 per cent) and Indians (14 per cent).

Meanwhile in Johor, MCA won four seats, namely Yong Peng, Paloh, Pekan Nanas and Bekok.

Yong Peng has the Chinese community making up the majority with 59.6 per cent, Malay (33.3 per cent) and Indians (6.75 per cent) while in Paloh, Malays made up the majority with 46.41 per cent, Chinese (37.14 per cent) and Indians (14.97 per cent).

Pekan Nanas was also a Malay-majority seat with (53.36 per cent) Chinese (45.11 per cent) and Indians (1.02 per cent), while in Bekok, the Chinese were the majority with 48.68 per cent, Malays (28.53 per cent) Indians (18.72 per cent) and others (4.07 per cent).

Separately, MCA’s rival Gerakan is expected to contest four parliamentary and 12 state seats in Selangor.

"Currently, Gerakan has submitted a list of candidates to the leadership based on the seats they want to contest,” Selangor Gerakan chairman Hong Chin Tat was quoted as saying.

Hong said that it is not easy for Gerakan to achieve breakthrough in Selangor, but they are optimistic.