Kuala Lumpur: Wanita Umno has started its own countdown to the 14th General Election (GE14).
A digital clock at the Wanita Umno headquarters at Level 37 of Menara Dato Onn here tentatively counts down to May 4.
It’s chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the clock was placed there three weeks ago to keep members on their toes and ever ready to face what has been deemed the “mother of all elections”.
The clock, displayed on a TV screen hung on the wall at the lobby, shows that there are 49 days to go, with the clock counting down the hours, minutes and seconds to zero.
A caption above the clock reads “The 14th general election”.
“Actually, the countdown is based on five years after GE13 that was held on May 5, 2013. It is just for our internal benchmarking to gauge the readiness of our preparations.
“However, I think the general election may be held earlier than this date (May 3),” Shahrizat said before chairing Wanita Umno’s Exco meeting here today.
She said Wanita Umno was ever ready to face elections.
She said more than 200,000 members had been mobilised as part of their Jalinan Rakyat machinery and would be working with the other wings of Umno and Barisan Nasional component parties.
She said Wanita Umno leaders who were doing preparatory work in the field had informed the headquarters that support for Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak was at a healthy level.
Asked whether Wanita Umno would be insisting on women candidates for Terengganu state seats, Shahrizat said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman had assured her that there would be women in his candidates lineup.
“The final list is being discussed now. We have had several meetings with the menteri besar and he has assured me that there will be (women candidates).
“We have sent Wanita candidates for all states. I believe that the Umno president knows what do with his Wanita Umno leaders.
“But, this (election) is serious business. At the end of the day, we want candidates who can win so the same standards apply.”
The opposition has reportedly been playing up the fact that there have not been any women in the Terengganu state assembly for more than 60 years.
The last time a woman candidate was fielded was in GE11 in 2004, when Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi sought his first mandate as prime minister.
The former Terengganu Puteri Umno chief Datuk Nordiana Shafie was fielded in the Batu Burok state seat but lost to a Pas candidate.