BN young faces stir election ground

In picking new faces, Najib Tun Razak hopes to get a mandate for the first time as prime minister.

KUALA LUMPUR: With nomination set on Saturday, the ground is abuzz over the young new faces propelled into the 13th general election by the Barisan Nasional which unveiled its transformation team over the past two days.

Next to the usual hot seat fights and who’s in, who’s out, the spotlight is being shared by the brigade of first-timers picked by BN chairman Najib Tun Razak to join him in seeking a mandate from the people for the first time as the prime minister.

In his choice of candidates, Najib has started the political transfusion to the BN too as he seeks to rejuvenate the coalition that was returned to power in the 2008 general election with a reduced margin and led to his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi handing over the reins to him.

The biggest shakeup took place yesterday in Selangor where 80% of the BN candidates unveiled by Najib are new in attempts to wrest the state back.

In the battle for Penang, nearly two-thirds of the BN candidates for the 13 parliamentary and 40 state seats are new while in Kedah, half of the BN candidates are first-timers.

The big challenge ahead for these newbies is to win over not only voters of their generation or even younger, but also to show their mettle and convince the older electorate who are more conservative generally.

Almost 42% cent of the 13.3 million voters are below 40 with 2.5 million aged between 21 and 29.

Universiti Malaya political analyst Zainal Abidin Borhan said while it is a big possibility that the young candidates can attract the attention of young voters, it remains to be seen if they secure their votes as well.

“Young voters these days are smart, they have access to technology and they can find out about the antics of candidates. To the question if they will support young candidates, the answer will depend on the candidates themselves if they can be a voice for the young,” he said.

Also, when the candidates go on their campaigns, they must be able to articulate their aspiration and outline how they will address the concerns of the young about their future, he added.

“The young candidates will carry the PM’s hopes to the young and this is an important investment for the future,” Zainal added.

BN’s youngest candidate is 25-year-old Daniel Wa Wai How from the MCA who will be contesting the Keranji state seat in Perak.

Wa, the aide to incumbent Kampar MP Lee Chee Leong, was the target of the media since his name was unveiled on Monday along with the rest of the party’s contenders.

Another Generation Y challenger is Gerakan’s Loo Jieh Sheng, 31, the youngest BN candidate in Penang who will be fielded in the Air Itam state constituency.

Loo, who is special assistant to Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow, sees his selection as an effort to bring renewed vigour to the people of the Air Itam state constituency last held by the DAP.

He said he has an advantage in being able to mingle with the young in Air Itam and he had also studied in the Chung Ling school there.

-Bernama