BENTONG (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, AFP) - The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), part of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, will introduce its own election manifesto to complement BN pledges this weekend.

MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said on Friday (April 6) MCA will announce "10 promises and 10 initiatives" this Sunday (April 8), a day after the unveiling of the BN manifesto.

"Our promises are already in Barisan's manifesto but as a party, MCA is committing ourselves to do more for the rakyat.

"We want to show the rakyat that MCA will go the extra mile. The 10 promises and 10 initiatives will be implemented in the next five years," he said.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak has announced that the Parliament will be dissolved on Saturday (April 7), paving the way for a hotly anticipated election.

Polling must be held within 60 days from the dissolution of Parliament. The Election Commission is expected to meet within the week to announce a date for the vote.

Datuk Seri Liow, who is also Transport Minister, invited the people to look at BN's track record and compare it with that of the opposition pact Pakatan Harapan.

"Barisan has successfully fulfilled its promises in the past five years. We carried out all programmes and projects to ensure continuous development for the rakyat," he said.

Mr Liow was speaking to reporters after attending the groundbreaking ceremony of 12 new classrooms at SJK(C) Perting here.

As Bentong MP, Mr Liow matched the fund dollar for dollar raised by the school, bringing the total money raised to RM1 million (S$340,767).