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Penang BN has announced Umno's candidates for the state in the 13th general election - with 13 new faces, two in parliamentary and 11 in state seats.

abdullah ahmad badawi pak lah parliament pc 101208 04 Mazlan Ismail will take on PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

Former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ( right ) and federal minister Nor Mohamed Yacob have been dropped from the Kepala Batas and Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seats respectively.

Kepala Batas will now be fought for by another newcomer, Reezal Merican, while incumbent Permatang Berangan assemblyperson Shabudin Yahya is moved to Tasek Gelugor.

Former state Opposition Leader Azhar Ibrahim will not recontest the Penaga state seat, which will go to Mohd Zain Ahmad.

The Umno candidates are:

Parliament:

Kepala Batas - Reezal Merican (new)

Nibong Tebal - Zainal Abidin Osman (incumbent)

Tasek Gelugor - Shabudin Yahya (Permatang Berangan incumbent)

Permatang Pauh - Mazlan Ismail (new)

Balik Pulau - Dr Hilmi Yahya (Teluk Bahang incumbent)

State:

Penaga - Mohd Zain Ahmad (new)

Bertam - Sariful Azam Osman (new)

Pinang Tunggal - Roslan Saidin (incumbent)

Permatang Berangan - Omar Abdul Hamid (new)

Sungai Dua - Mohd Yusoff Mohd Noor (new)

Teluk Ayer Tawar - Jahara Hamid (incumbent)

Seberang Jaya - Mohd Nasir Abdullah (new)

Permatang Pasir - Faisal Yahya (new)

Penanti - Ibrahim Ahmad (new)

Sungai Bakap - Mohd Foad Mat Isa (new)

Sungai Acheh - Mahmud Zakaria (incumbent)

Batu Maung - Mansor Musa (new)

Bayan Lepas - Noordin Ahmad (new)

Pulau Betong - Muhammad Farid Saad (incumbent)

Teluk Bahang - Shahidan Ayub (new)

The names were announced in Bayan Baru today, with about 1,000 people at the much anticipated event.

NONE State BN chief Teng Chang Yeow said this was the first time that so many supporters were present.

Teng shouted, "Are we ready (to face the general election)? Are you ready to win? Are we prepared for the 1Malaysia struggle?".

The crowd responded with a hearty 'Yes!'

He seemed satisfied with the response, saying that the spirit of battle should be even better at the grassroots level.

Teng urged everyone to close ranks and strengthen the spirit of cooperation for BN's victory.

"For those who are not chosen, please go and persuade them and ask them to work with us. The leadership has made a decision, and the decision making process was painful," he said.

"We had to many hopefuls who wanted to contest 50 seats, and we had to chose the best and the most winnable. We want the rakyat to have confidence in us as these faces represent BN."

'Rejuvenation has started'

State MCA chief Ng Yen Yen was present, along with Abdullah, Gerakan's Dr Teng Hock Nan and Umno's Zainal Abidin Osman,  MIC's L Krishnan and People’s Progressive Party's Logabalan Mohan.

Ng, who is also Wanita MCA head, said the coalition’s candidates "are the best we can deliver to the people and this is in line with BN transformation agenda".

ng yen yen 270213 06 All the BN candidates in the Penang parliamentary line-up are new faces, while 60 percent of those contesting state seats are also new faces, she told a press conference today.

"The first fundamental renewal and rejuvenation has started. You do not see senior leaders coming forward as candidates. We will go all out to help and give our people the very best," she said.

"We are hopeful that Penangites have felt and seen for themselves BN's transformation programme, that it has brought about positive and definite changes, so we hope the people will support us for the continuation of this.

"We have seen that in these five years, (caretaker) Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has not delivered. They are only good at delivering verbally but nothing solid."

Ng, the Raub incumbent who has been dropped as a candidate this time, admitted that in the past, there were assemblypersons who had failed to serve constituents but that the situation has changed.

"When the people have problems, they come to the BN and MCA representatives. Our team is very committed and service-oriented. The people's daily issues need to be addressed, so I hope the people will give our candidates the chance to serve," she said.

Ng went on to criticise Lim for going ahead with the controversial RM6.3 billion road dispersal project, which includes an undersea tunnel linking the island with the mainland.

"Many people, especially environmentalists, disagree with the plan but why is the state government pushing through with it?" she asked.

After the press conference, Ng distributed the party's mascot, the panda, to reporters, saying that it signified "stability and prosperity" and the good relationship the country has with China, which was initiated by former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein.

Gerakan and MCA released their list of candidates last night.

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