PETALING JAYA: Not all BN component parties are happy with Umno youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s that candidates must be made known well before nomination day.
Khairy wants BN to announce its candidates a week before the nomination day .
While some agreed that an early announcement of candidates would help those chosen to be better prepared, others are not keen on the idea.
MIC youth chief T. Mohan(Pic) said he was in favour of the suggestion, saying that an early announcement would reduce party infighting.
“Sometimes party-sabotaging will happen at the eleventh hour because there are two or three potential candidates for a particular seat.
“By announcing it earlier, the chosen candidate can focus. Even if there is any problem, he or she can rectify it,” he said when contacted by FMT yesterday.
He added that a candidate would not “be able to do much” after nomination day.
“I know it is up for the prime minister to announce (the candidates), but he has to announce (it earlier),” he said.
When asked about his youth wing’s plan for the GE, Mohan said he hoped at least 40% of the MIC candidates would be the young candidates.
He said the young blood does not necessarily come from the youth wing but can be anyone below 45 years old. However, he was non-committal when asked where he would be standing, only saying that he would not seek to re-contest the Batu Caves state seat in Selangor.
MIC fared miserably in the 2008 polls, winning only three of the nine parliamentary seats and seven of 19 state seats it contested.
Mohan was defeated by PKR’s Amirudin Shari by 3639-majority votes in Batu Caves state seat, Selangor.
Parti Bersatu Sabah youth chief Jahid Jahim also said that an earlier announcement of candidates would allow parties to do early preparations.
“But I think the prime minister will make a decision based on previous experiences and pros and cons of each circumstances, so I leave it to him to decide,” he said.
He said seat allocations among BN component parties in Sabah has been finalised except the two parliamentary seats and two state seats held by Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), which pulled out from BN after the 2008 polls.
The Tamparuli assemblyman also looked to defend his state seat for another term.
PBS contested four parliamentary and 14 state seats in 2008. It won in Keningau, Kota Marudu, Batu Sapi parliamentary seats and 12 state seats.
Meanwhile, Gerakan youth chief Lim Si Pin contended that BN would not benefit too much from early candidate announcement because some of the component parties might not be ready.
“We are in one big family, even if 12 component parties are ready and one is not, it’s not fair for BN to announce.
“If one party announced their candidates earlier, it is going to jeopardize the planning of another component party,” he told FMT.
He argued that Pakatan has yet to make known of their candidates too.
Lim said “a fair majority of less than 60%” of Gerakan candidates would be the young candidates. He also said he would not be contesting in the coming polls.
Gerakan suffered its worst electoral result in 2008, which saw the party winning in only two of the 12 parliamentary seats and four of the 31 state seats it contested.
The same polls also saw Lim losing in his bid for Batu parliamentary seat in Kuala Lumpur to Tian Chua by 9455 majority votes.
