KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 – Political leaders on both sides of the divide descended on the federal capital today as suspense mounts over the selection of candidates for the 13th general election, a day after the 12th Parliament was dissolved.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak earlier in the day chaired back-to-back meetings of the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno supreme councils at Menara Dato Onn to tie up the loose ends before the coalition unveils its manifesto on Saturday night, with the prime minister also promising to name the candidates well before nomination day.
Momentum has shifted into top gear as the Electon Commission is poised to decide on the nomination and polling dates, with much speculation that it would be all over by month’s end. Najib, leading the coalition into the battle for the first time, said the earlier than usual announcement of the BN candidates would enable them to be better prepared and start meeting voters earlier.
“Wait for the announcement. I do not want to say anything now but there will be changes. It’s important to have an element of surprise,” he told reporters after the supreme council meetings. Faced with a tough fight to regain ground lost in the 2008 general election, BN had indicated that up to 40 per cent of its candidates would be new faces.
Najib all but confirmed that he would defend his bastion of Pekan when asked to comment on opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to contest in Perak rather than defend his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.
“I will never dream of leaving Pekan. I will live and die in Pekan politically,” said Najib who took over in 1976 the task of tending to Pekan, the birthplace and stronghold of his father, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, who died during his tenure as the country’s second prime minister.
The BN manifesto, Najib said, would underscore the commitment of the coalition to continue with the transformation of the country and the national economy for the prosperity of the people. According to Anwar, his wife and PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail would stay out of the election despite earlier reports that she was eyeing a state seat in Selangor.
Anwar told Al-Jazeera television Wednesday that she had decided not to contest when he was asked on criticisms of nepotism within PKR as he is PKR adviser and their daughter Nurul Izzah is vice-president. Wan Azizah was not spotted when Anwar and fellow opposition leaders huddled for three hours at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) headquarters just outside the city and emerged with Anwar announcing that discussions on the seat allocation would resume tomorrow afternoon.
PAS was represented by its spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and DAP by secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is Penang Chief Minister.
“After yesterday’s dissolution, the ensuing 48 to 78 hours will be critical for BN and the opposition to finalise their lists of candidates. From the look of things, there seems to be quite a few loose ends and you can expect the haggling and last-minute swapping to continue till nomination day,” said a political pundit.
The upcoming battle will see BN and opposition vying for 222 parliamentary seats and 505 state seats in 12 states except Sarawak which held its state election in April 2011. The Johor and Selangor state assemblies were dissolved today, leaving just three still outstanding – the opposition-held states of Penang, Kelantan and Kedah.
Lim and Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak confirmed that their state assemblies would follow suit tomorrow. Nik Abdul Aziz is set to have an audience with Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan tonight.
BERNAMA
