KUALA LUMPUR (The Star/Asia News Network) - The Malaysian Chinese Association wants the seats which it "loaned" to ruling Barisan Nasional partner Umno in the 2013 General Election returned to the party, says its president Liow Tiong Lai.

"Our stand is whatever seats that were loaned out, we will take them back," said Datuk Seri Liow, who is also Transport Minister, after a community event on Saturday (Dec 3).

The seats it loaned out were Wangsa Maju, Kuantan and Gelang Patah, which were eventually lost to the Opposition.

Mr Liow's comments came a day after Umno acting deputy president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi accused BN component parties of not pulling their weight.

Umno is the only exclusively-Malay party in BN. Many of its one dozen allies are also race-based, which means parties tend to cater to their respective ethnic constituents.

Datuk Seri Zahid, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, also warned that Umno might be inclined to form new alliances with Islamic parties if the multi-ethnic BN platform failed to garner success.

This led to a fierce rebuke by Umno's partners, especially MCA, considered the second-biggest party in the alliance.