GE14 | Looking at the list of BN candidates for the 13 Federal Territories’ (FT) parliamentary seats announced yesterday, political analysts believe the coalition has a good chance of retaining its seats and wresting back some of the nine seats currently held by the opposition.

However, in view of the political undercurrents ahead of the 14th general election, BN might need proper winning strategies together with strong leadership, to secure a victory.

Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) political lecturer, Associate Prof Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, said FT BN’s list of candidates comprised both old and new faces, which reflected the party’s unwavering spirit in winning back the seats it lost in the previous elections.

“Although the signs are encouraging, I think it is still going to be a tough fight for BN. Moreover, the sentiments of the urbanites and young voters could be unpredictable at times,” he told Bernama when contacted today.

Yesterday, FT BN secretary-general Rizalman Mokhtar announced the names of the candidates, comprising six new faces, three incumbents, two renominated candidates and two local grassroots leaders to contest the 13 parliamentary seats in FT.

Azizuddin is optimistic that BN could perform better this time around with the selection of grassroots members and veterans like Setiawangsa and Lembah Pantai Umno division chiefs Zulhasnan Rafique and Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin, respectively.

Sharing similar sentiments, another political observer, Anbumani Balan, said the candidates should get rid of the “to contest for the sake of contesting” attitude in the DAP-stronghold seats such as Kepong, Cheras, Bukit Bintang and Seputeh, and battle with full spirit to win.

He said BN candidates might be the underdogs in those constituencies, but if the party’s machinery put its strategies in order, BN would have a good chance to secure victory, while seasoned candidates like Zulhasnan and Raja Nong Chik certainly had the upper hand compared to the opposition candidates.

“Fielding Adnan Abu Seman in Bandar Tun Razak is a smart and bold political move. This will help tackle the urbanites' needs and understand their mindset better,” he said while predicting that BN had better chances to win back Lembah Pantai and Bandar Tun Razak in the GE14.

In the GE13, BN won the Titiwangsa and Setiawangsa seats in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Putrajaya and Labuan seat, while the opposition pact took Kepong (DAP), Batu, Wangsa Maju (PKR), Segambut (DAP), Bukit Bintang (DAP), Lembah Pantai (PKR), Seputeh (DAP), Cheras (DAP) and Bandar Tun Razak (PKR before incumbent Abdul Khalid Ibrahim turned Independent).

Asked if sabotage will rear its ugly head if certain candidates were dropped from the list, Anbumani said sabotage had always been a critical issue in any political party and it was up to the party's top leadership to understand the voters' emotion and sentiments before deciding on the candidates.

Meanwhile, Associate Prof Ahmad Marthada Mohamed of the UUM noted that it was a good strategy for BN to name its candidates earlier as this would give ample time for the party to resolve issues, including sabotage attempts, and to have more time to engage with voters.

Although it would not be an easy route for BN, he said he believed that the coalition’s candidates still had a good chance of winning back the nine seats.

“This is a good line-up as we can see a mixture of old faces, and the introduction of new and young blood which include more women. I see there is a good chance of winning back Lembah Pantai following the increase in the number of Malay voters after the recent redelineation exercise by the Election Commission.

“It is also a good move by BN to field more women candidates, which will give them good exposure and experience to tackle the young voters. Young candidates will easily understand what the young people want from the government. This is the best line up in the spirit of BN's aspiration,” he added.

- Bernama