The gamble was worth it for most parties, say youth leaders
PETALING JAYA: The decision by various coalitions to field fresh faces in the recent polls in Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan and Terengganu has mostly paid off, though not always in accordance to plans.
Pakatan Harapan said while that strategy worked in some state assemblies, it failed in others, though it certainly did provide an opportunity for the new faces to familiarise themselves with their potential constituents, and vice versa.
Perikatan Nasional stated that by fielding nearly 80% of seats with new faces in Selangor, it increased its number of state seats from five to 22 in the recent state polls, suggesting that the coalition’s strategic planning worked.
As for Barisan Nasional lynchpin Umno, the fielding of new faces this round sent a clear message to voters that Umno is willing to change its old guards, though this wasn’t enough for the party which lost badly in many areas.
PKR Youth Chief and Hang Tuah Jaya member of parliament Adam Adli said fielding fresh faces yielded positive results in most states except in Kelantan and Terengganu.
PKR, the lynchpin of Pakatan, fielded new faces in more than 30% of contested seats in all six states.
In Selangor, PKR fielded 11 new faces, Penang (eight), Kedah (nine) and five in Negri Sembilan.
“We can see the effectiveness of this strategy in areas such as Lembah Jaya, Batu Tiga, Taman Templer, Kota Damansara, Seri Setia and Kota Lama, as well as some seats in Negri Sembilan, Kedah and Penang,” said Adam, who added that these newbies did well against Perikatan candidates.
“In Terengganu, however, this strategy did not seem to have worked such as in Wakaf Mempelam and Batu Buruk.
“The same happened in Sg Bakap in Penang, where the new face we fielded was perceived close to the state Pakatan leaders.
“Those who failed this round should buckle up and work towards a win in the future. Sometimes, such a strategy tends to fail due to lack of (campaign) time or (the candidate) not being familiar with the local community,” said Adam.
Hulu Kelang state assemblyman Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said Perikatan reaped huge dividends in Selangor.
“It was worth fielding new faces, and some even made significant inroads in mixed (race) areas,” said Azmin.
As Bersatu is a Malay party which was gunning predominantly for Malay votes in the recent state polls, he said the fact that Perikatan managed to deny two-thirds majority to the unity government in Selangor spoke volumes.
“We went from five seats to 22 – this showed the people have trust in the comprehensive and realistic offers made by Perikatan,” he said.
His Perikatan counterpart, PAS Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, agreed that new faces certainly did help in some areas.
“We have yet to complete our post-mortem, but in some areas, there was not enough momentum for the new faces to win due to the low voter turnouts,” said Ahmad Fadhli, who added that the track record of the coalition they represent is no less important.
“The candidate factor is only 20% to 30% of the weightage, but fielding the right candidate works in Malay majority areas where voters want the elected representative to always be among the community (such as attending weddings and funerals).
“In Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, fielding new candidates worked as they are seen as potentially effective state assemblymen,” said Ahmad Fadhli, who is also the Pasir Mas MP.
He added that placing new faces in Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan proved to be an uphill battle, especially in urban areas, where the voters tend to judge candidates more on national issues and less on the candidate per se.
Umno Youth Chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said despite losing, the new Umno faces is an indication that the party is keen for change.
“Winning or losing is secondary to the message that we sent out – when 63% of candidates are new faces, it is our commitment to supporters that we are willing to change for the better.
“Our post-mortem is ongoing, but the message is clear – that the Umno of today is ditching the old guards, and willing to move away from the mould that it has always been in,” said Dr Akmal, who is also the Merlimau assemblyman.
“We may have lost the battle for now, but we are gearing up for the next general election by proving that we are a party that is unafraid to take risks to make a comeback,” he said.
