Najib: BN may announce candidates earlier
SYDNEY: Barisan Nasional (BN) may announce its candidates for the 14th general election (GE14) earlier, instead of adopting the previous practice of announcing it two or three days before the election.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who is also BN chairman, said this would allow the party to solve problems in certain constituencies and for the candidates to make early preparations.
“We will do it earlier this time but not too early. If there are problems in certain constituencies, we will have time to resolve it. “It will also give time for the candidates to make preparations,” he told Malaysian reporters here yesterday.
Najib said he has the initial list of candidates but needed time to scrutinise it before making the announcement.
“I’m still going through the list. I need a little more time to study it thoroughly and to get the evaluation from the MACC (Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission) and other relevant parties,” he said.
Najib is in Sydney to attend the two-day Asean-Australia Special Summit 2018, that began on Saturday.
Commenting on the suggestion for BN to name a candidate for the Selangor mentri besar’s post if the party managed to wrest back the state, Najib said it could be done if all BN leaders agreed to it.
“If there is a consensus, why not? But there must be a strong consensus. Barisan must identify potential candidates for the mentri besar’s post. If there is consensus among Barisan leaders, then we will announce the candidates,” he said. – Bernama