BANGI: The move to drop several incumbent MPs from the list of candidates for the 15th general election (GE15) is necessary to give new faces in the party the chance to shine, says PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
Commenting on a warning by former PKR vice-president Tian Chua that the party’s move to drop several incumbent MPs ahead of GE15 could hurt the party, Anwar said younger politicians should be given the opportunity to contest the polls.
“I would like to emphasise to Tian Chua that we still need the support of these senior politicians to continue guiding the youth in the party.
“I met with him (Tian Chua) for a while and listened to his views yesterday. As I mentioned in my speech last night, not all the MPs can be maintained.
“Otherwise, the younger generation will not be able to come up the ranks,” Anwar said after an event here.
Last night, PKR announced its list of candidates for 72 parliamentary seats in the peninsula.
The party dropped eight incumbent MPs — Maria Chin Abdullah (Petaling Jaya), R Sivarasa (Sungai Buloh), Natrah Ismail (Sekijang), June Leow (Hulu Selangor), Tan Yee Kiew (Wangsa Maju), Dr Lee Boon Chye (Gopeng), Johari Abdul (Sungai Petani) and Chan Ming Kai (Alor Setar).
Earlier today, Tian Chua said there were many who were disappointed with the decision, stating that “shuffling MPs and seats like cards” would hurt the party’s grassroots and frustrate the voters who supported PKR and their elected representatives.
Noting that one of the core criteria for choosing candidates is the ability to build strong connections with the constituency, the former Batu MP said his “biggest fear” was that this quality was being eroded among legislators. - FMT
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