New faces may not be new winners
By dropping the veterans, however, Datuk Seri Najib risks angering the discarded ones, some of whom are already threatening to run as independent candidates.
Carolyn Hong, ST
IN 2008, the youngest candidate on the ballot was the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s information chief Nik Nazmi Ahmad, then 26.
This time, the honour goes to Mr Daniel Wa, 25, from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA).
Mr Wa, an economics graduate working for an MCA member of parliament, is among the 40 per cent of candidates who are new faces being trotted out by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) as it seeks to convince voters that it has a slate of young and vibrant candidates to challenge Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR’s) young stars.
Prime Minister Najib Razak took pains to stress that one-third of his 222 parliamentary candidates and half of the 505 state candidates are new, as he has dropped five Cabinet ministers and other veterans.
Political analyst Shamsul Adabi Mamat from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said while the new candidates may not be known nationally, they come from the communities where they are being fielded.
“In 2008, there were many parachute candidates, but this time, they appear to be locals from a variety of backgrounds,” he added. “I think that’s what the people want to see.”
By dropping the veterans, however, Datuk Seri Najib risks angering the discarded ones, some of whom are already threatening to run as independent candidates.
Three veteran leaders from Penang, including former MP Shariff Omar, said they will decide soon whether to contest against their own parties. Former MCA president Ong Tee Keat is also keeping that option open after being dropped.
In the 2008 General Election, Mr Najib’s predecessor Abdullah Badawi had to deal with peeved saboteurs in many states, despite changing only 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the list.
That contributed to BN’s loss of its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time since 1969.
Still, stuffing the candidates’ list with new faces is no guarantee of a better performance for BN in the May 5 polls, with a fierce fight between BN and the opposition PR expected.
After all, half of the candidates the MCA introduced in 2008 were new faces, but it still did badly.
The advantage of fielding unknown candidates is that they have fewer skeletons in the closet.
The disadvantage is that they are unknown.
