Anwar says PKR to field younger candidates in next polls

Anwar said going with new faces would help lift the party’s reformist image. — file pic

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said he would welcome snap polls and that his PKR party planned to field younger and newer candidates, in a move to shore up its reform message.

Speaking at a Singapore Foreign Correspondents Association talk here today, Anwar said many of PKR’s candidates would be in their 20s and 30s, suggesting many of his party’s incumbents would be dropped.

Anwar’s PKR has been hit by a series of defections and is now embroiled in a major crisis surrounding its ongoing party elections with allegations of fraud and mismanagement.

Speculation is rife that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will call for a general election by the first quarter of next year because of uncertain economic projections and to take advantage of PKR’s problems.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition was given a major boost last weekend after it won two by-elections.

BN took back a state seat in Kelantan and retained a parliamentary constituency in Sabah, in what observers say suggests a possible shift in support back to the ruling coalition after a string of successive by-election defeats since 2008.

In Election 2008, BN received a bloody nose and lost its traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament, besides losing in five states.

But there is now a perception that momentum has moved away in recent months from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) — the coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS — although how the majority of Malaysians will vote remains unpredictable.

Anwar, who is facing the distraction of fighting a sodomy charge in court, appeared to acknowledge today that PKR would need to present fresh faces to have any chance of winning the next elections.

He said that previous experiences showed older candidates were prone to defeat, and that fielding younger faces would shore up the party’s “reformasi” (reformist) image.

The opposition leader said he was upbeat about PR’s chances in the next elections, adding that the coalition’s leaders would soon meet to discuss their strategies.