21 NEW FACES IN TERENGGANU, F.T. LISTS
Coalition also fielding formidable women candidates in Federal Territory
THE official announcement on Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidates for the Federal Territory (FT) and Terengganu parliamentary and state seats reflected the ruling coalition’s strong desire for a landslide victory in the 14th General Election (GE14).
Taking into consideration several criteria, including every candidate’s “winnability” factor, BN’s line-up for the two states unveiled yesterday, comprises greenhorns apart from experienced and old faces.
Of course, immediately after the announcement, there were some who were disappointed at being dropped or not selected to contest in what is touted to be the “Mother of all elections”.
In the east coast state, contrary to speculation that he would be dropped from contesting GE14, former Terengganu menteri besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said was chosen to defend his Kijal seat for the sixth term.
Prior to the announcement, political pundits anticipated a tough battle for the seat if BN was to field a new face to go against Pas’ Hazri Jusoh, who was defeated by Ahmad during the polls in 2008 and 2013.
It is obvious the ruling coalition will not spare any effort to obtain a greater win in Terengganu since BN only won 17 state seats against Pas’ 14 seats in the 13th General Election (GE13).
Anything less than that would place BN in a tight spot in the event of internal political bickering.
The return of Datuk Rosol Wahid, who was dropped in the previous election, replacing Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Jailani Johari for the Hulu Terengganu parliamentary seat, was unexpected among observers, especially outsiders.
Sources close to Terengganu Umno, however, were not surprised with the changes after taking into consideration relations among division leaders and time constraints, which hindered the deputy minister from spending more days in his constituency.
In the capital here, Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin’s candidacy for the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat for GE14 also came as no surprise.
All eyes are on Nong Chik, who lost the battle for Lembah Pantai to PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar in GE13, since it is predicted that he could cause an upset in the polls this time around.
The former accountant has been working hard and continued providing his services to the Lembah Pantai constituents.
Perhaps, the strong presence and support for Nong Chik had unnerved Nurul Izzah, who is rumoured to be vying for the safer seat in Permatang Pauh.
The same could be said for Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States, Tan Sri Zulhasnan Rafique, who had commuted frequently between Washington and here for the past 15 months to serve constituents in Setiawangsa.
BN’s decision to field newcomer and lawyer, Adnan Abu Seman, 42, for the Bandar Tun Razak, a parliamentary seat previously contested by MCA, was also to breathe new hope for the ruling coalition with support from MCA. The ruling coalition will also put forth formidable women candidates in FT.
They included Seputeh MCA division deputy secretary, Chan Quin Er, for the Seputeh parliamentary constituency, Bukit Bintang MCA division women chief Ann Tan Ean Ean (Bukit Bintang) and Cheras MCA division women chief Heng Sinn Yee (Cheras).
In Terengganu, BN is fielding Marang Wanita Umno chief Toh Puan Zaitun Mat Amin for the Bukit Payong state seat while state Wanita Umno treasurer Datuk Zainun Abu Bakar is the ruling coalition’s candidate for the Sura state seat.
BN is expected to reveal more candidates for GE14 in the coming days.
In the end, we may not see many surprises since most of the incumbents were retained based on winnable factors, while fresh faces are probably just to back up the performance of some former elected representatives.
In the end, we may not see many surprises since most of the incumbents were retained based on winnable factors...