SHAH ALAM, April 29 — Banking on more than 71 per cent new faces in the 14th General Election (GE14) this time around is seen as a political reform by the Barisan Nasional (BN) to recapture Selangor.
The decision also could indirectly enhance the support of the grassroots and party backers, something which is much needed by the BN at the moment.
Political analyst Badrul Azmier Mohamed @ Bakar said the selection of fresh candidates would shut down the opposition’s opportunity to seek BN’s shortcomings as new face candidates were free from disputable track records.
“The new candidate has no stories of misconduct which can be used as capital for the opposition to topple BN (candidates).
“Therefore, it is best for voters, regardless of whether they are Malay, Chinese, Indian or any race, to vote for BN in a bid to ‘re-democratise’ Selangor,” he told Bernama.
All 56 new candidates from the 78 candidates for 22 parliamentary seats and 56 state seats in Selangor will contest in 13 parliamentary seats and 43 state seats in the 14th General Election on May 9.
The rest were the five incumbents in the parliamentary seats, nine incumbents in the state seats and four candidates who made a comeback and four other candidates who were defeated in GE13 but were re-nominated.
The Political Science lecturer at the Faculty of Administrative Science & Policy Studies (FSPPP), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Negeri Sembilan Branch, Seremban 3 Campus was confident the BN strategy this time around will enable the coalition to win in Selangor or at least reduce the two-thirds majority of Pakatan Harapan.
According to Badrul Azmier, the PAS move to place candidates in almost all parliamentary and state constituencies in Selangor was seen as giving the BN an edge in the general election this time.
“As in the past, usually the voting patterns in three or more cornered fights gave the BN a great advantage and this time, PAS will definitely place its candidate after deciding to leave Pakatan Rakyat,” he said.
In the meantime, Badrul Azmier said more than two million voters in Selangor should give the BN a chance to pursue the development that had begun in the state before.
He believed that BN was able to administer Selangor better, while Pakatan Harapan could serve as an effective opposition in the state.
“For now, what do we say, we ‘rest’ Pakatan Harapan. They can be an effective opposition to provide the check and balance in Selangor. Give the BN a chance to rule Selangor in a better way than previously,” he said. — Bernama
