IPOH: Young candidates will be given priority in the 16th General Election (GE16), says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also Barisan Nasional chairman, said putting out young candidates was the way forward, as the move has proved to work well in the Nenggiri and Mahkota by-elections.
"We have no choice but to put out new and young candidates.
"Nenggiri and Mahkota (by-elections) prove that such a hypothesis works," he said in a press conference after opening the Perak Barisan Nasional Convention here on Sunday (Nov 24).
"With exposure to the grassroots, young candidates can give us victories.
"In Nenggiri, which we've never won and in a state which is not under the unity government, we can win if we bring in a game changer," he added.
Ahmad Zahid had in his opening speech earlier said that Youth, Puteri and Wanita members would be given the priority to stand in GE16.
In Nenggiri, Kelantan Umno Youth chief Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani, 38, defeated Perikatan Nasional's Mohd Rizwadi Ismail by a majority of 3,352 votes while Kluang Umno Youth chief Syed Hussein Syed Abdullah, 40, defeated Perikatan's Mohamad Haizan Jaafar by a 20,648 majority in Mahkota.
Ahmad Zahid also said the move was not meant to deny the old guards.
He said there was still a need for a good combination between the young and old.
"We were also young once, as we were also given opportunities to be a candidate in elections," he said.
He also said that discussion on seat allocations between parties in the unity government will only be held after the dissolution of Parliament and state assemblies.
"We have not discussed it yet. People can make their recommendations (for the candidates) and it will be up to the top leadership to make a decision about it," he added.
