KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — Despite declaring no snap polls this year, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is expected meet Barisan Nasional (BN) component party leaders here today to finalise the list of potential candidates and seat allocations.The Malaysian Insider understands the meeting, a follow-up to last Friday’s BN supreme council meeting, will likely touch on preparations for the 13th general election as the ruling coalition leadership had set December as the deadline for a final list of candidates.
The meeting will likely take place later today after the prime minister returns from last weekend’s Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Hawaii.
“Tomorrow’s (today’s) meeting agenda is still unknown but Datuk Seri Najib wants to meet with us... possibly to offer his input and views on the question of candidates and division of seats,” a BN component party leader told The Malaysian Insider.
“The time of the meeting will only be made known tomorrow (today) when Najib returns... but the meeting is not an indication that the election will be held this year,” the leader added.
“I do not foresee any election this year, perhaps next year... but not this year, I am sure of it.”
After chairing last week’s BN supreme council meeting, Najib told reporters the 13th general election, which does not have to be called until 2013, will not be held this year.
He departed for Hawaii after the meeting to attend the Apec summit and is scheduled to return this morning.
“Datuk Seri Najib already announced during last Friday’s meeting that he wants to meet with all component party presidents (the moment he returns),” the BN leader said.
Another leader said his party had already submitted its candidate list to Najib several months ago to be scrutinised.
“The names have been sent, not in the order of seats or constituencies to be contested as allocated in the previous polls, but a general, rough list for consideration.
“Perhaps after this, we will prepare a specialised list according to constituencies. Perhaps tomorrow’s (today’s) meeting will pave the way for that,” the leader said.
The leader said there was a possibility of seat swaps among BN component parties, in view of the Election 2008 results which saw many parties lose in crucial constituencies in the peninsula.
Prior to this, Umno urged other BN parties to surrender seats they had lost to other parties to be contested.
Najib had recently directed BN leaders to give special focus on the winnability of potential candidates as part of the pact’s strategy to recapture its coveted two-thirds majority in Parliament and trounce Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the states the opposition pact had won in 2008.
read more at TheMalaysianInsider.com
