Lack of young candidates won’t hurt PAS, say analysts

 

A political analyst says there would not be any big risk for PAS if it did not meet a 30% quota of young candidates. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: A dearth of young candidates would not make a dent in PAS’ chances in the coming elections to six state assemblies, say analysts.

Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said PAS had not made it a priority to field young candidates, even if there have been calls for it to do so by its youth wing.

“PAS’ strength lies in its machinery and party loyalty. We saw a lot of new faces win in the 2022 general election because of those factors, not really due to the candidates themselves.

“So I think there is no big risk here for them not to achieve the 30% quota,” she told FMT.

PAS won 49 seats at the parliamentary elections last November, achieving the largest number of seats by any party. DAP won 40, PKR 31, Umno 26 and Bersatu 25.

Last Wednesday, PAS Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said the party was facing difficulties in meeting its 30% target in fielding young candidates for the six state elections.

Young candidates would form only 10% of the PAS lineup, he said. The 30% target had been set a few years ago by party president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Syaza said Bersatu and Gerakan, who are PAS’s partners in Perikatan Nasional, were more likely to field young candidates.

“We may expect more new faces from Bersatu because of its small pool of leaders to begin with. As for Gerakan, which I think has a lot of work to do, they need new blood to convince voters.

But she said “new” would not necessarily mean young candidates.

Syaza, however, was doubtful any of PN’s component parties would be able to field 30% young candidates, but Gerakan had “more on the line” to do so.

Another political analyst, Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara, said PAS depends on its ulama status, usually associated with older candidates and would not be affected by the lack of young candidates.

“I don’t think it will make any difference in terms of support for PAS, if the new faces, the younger candidates only make up 10% but it’s going to be very different for other parties, for example, (those in) Pakatan Harapan or Barisan Nasional,” he said. - FMT