Tuesday March 19, 2013

GE13: Barisan to field 80% new candidates in Selangor

By TEH ENG HOCK and A. RUBAN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KLANG: Some 80% of Barisan Nasional candidates for state seats in Selangor will be new faces in the coming general election, according to coalition sources.

Pakatan Rakyat, too, is expected to field newcomers in several of the 56 state constituencies, but not as many as Barisan because most of its incumbents are first-term assemblymen.

A Barisan source said: “We will be fielding a bunch of energetic people.”

The newcomers are speculated to include Klang Umno deputy chief Nazarruddin M. Zin, Sungai Besar Umno Youth chief Budiman Mohd Zohdi, Gerakan Anti-Penyelewengan Selangor head Hamidzun Khairuddin, Sepang MCA chief Ng Chok Sin and MCA Beliawanis chief Tee Hooi Ling.

Meanwhile, Sementa assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rahman Palil, who is serving his fifth term, has “volunteered” to contest in the Kapar parliamentary constituency.

Abdul Rahman, who is Kapar Barisan Nasional chief, proposed the swapping of seats between Umno and MIC because the percentage of Indian voters in Sementa has increased while there are more Malay voters in Kapar.

“However, this can only be decided by (Barisan chairman) Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,” he stressed.

Gerakan, which contested four state seats and the Puchong parliamentary constituency, is set to field new candidates in all these areas, said a senior party official.

“Three of the candidates (for state seats) are below 40, while the other person is below 50,” he added.

Gerakan, which lost all the seats it contested in Selangor, may also field its state chief Senator A. Kohilan Pillay in Puchong, now being held by DAP's Gobind Singh Deo, who beat Lau Yeng Peng with a majority of 12,593 votes in 2008.

Pakatan has already announced two big names as candidates former law professor Dr Aziz Bari for Sabak Bernam and PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli for Pandan.

Some incumbents are likely to be moved to different seats, with state exco members Ronnie Liu and Elizabeth Wong tipped to contest in parliamentary constituencies.

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Tuesday March 19, 2013

GE13: Barisan to field 80% new candidates in Selangor

By TEH ENG HOCK and A. RUBAN newsdesk@thestar.com.my

By TEH ENG HOCK and A. RUBAN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my