Subra: BN will discuss seat allocation

KUALA LUMPUR: Discussions concerning seat allocation quotas in the next general election will be done with component parties in Barisan Nasional (BN), said MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said this in response to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s statement that BN was considering getting rid of component parties’ seat allocation quotas in the 14th General Election (GE14).

“Any issues related to seat allocation will have to be discussed within BN.

“We practise mutual consensus when making a decision, especially on seat allocations, and we will stick to this principle.

“In MIC, we are always looking for candidates who have the potential to win in elections and so, we will cooperate with BN to ensure that those nominated have the ability to win,” he said during the Indian Community Blueprint dialogue at the Institute for Health Management here yesterday.

Zahid, who is also acting Umno deputy president, told the New Sunday Times and BH Ahad that studies had shown that candidates contributed 60 per cent of the success rate for BN in general elections.

He said 20 per cent of the success could be attributed to the ability of the candidates to resolve local issues and 20 per cent more to party machinery and persuasive approaches.

This comes as BN chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in a Sunday Star interview that the ruling coalition would evaluate its candidates for GE14 using a new and tough system.

In the last general election, BN’s non-Malay component parties — MCA, MIC and Gerakan — performed poorly, although Umno had increased its federal seat count from 79 to 88.