KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional's (BN) move to field new faces in the 15th General Election (GE15) will be a success as it is a tried and tested formula which propelled them to victory in the Melaka and Johor by-elections.
BN candidate for the Shah Alam parliamentary seat Hizatul Isham Abdul Jalil, better known as Isham Jalil, said he hoped the use of the formula for the third time in GE15 would be a winning factor for them as voters wanted a breath of fresh air in candidates.
"I am bullish about that. I think it is going to be very good for us and voters like to see fresh faces. We saw what happened in the Melaka and Johor by-elections (fielding new candidates) and the voters liked it.
"We took the chance in Melaka where we fielded 80 per cent young candidates and it worked. In Johor, there were 75 per cent new faces fielded and that was a success as well.
"So this time around, we will continue with that formula. Voters also want someone from the younger generation and they like someone they can relate to, someone to represent them and understand their problems and of their own generation," said the Umno supreme council member who will be making his electoral debut this GE15.
Being part of the 85 per cent of new faces in GE15 at age 46, Isham told the New Straits Times that he felt he could somehow relate to "Undi18", a group of voters aged from 18 to 21, who will be casting their ballots for the first time in GE15.
He said he was closer in age to the Undi18 voters and could better relate to them compared to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is 97, and Pakatan Harapan chairman and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is 75.
"At my age, I can still relate to Tun Dr Mahathir and Anwar and the problems of my generation. But I do not think they can relate to the Undi18 voters. Now, their problems are different and there are generational gaps.
"I guess that is why the younger people want someone who they can resonate with and understand their problems to represent them instead of someone in their 90s," he added.
MCA candidate for the Klang parliamentary seat, Tee Hooi Ling, said she hoped her work for the community since 2003 would be recognised even though she was never an elected representative.
She was optimistic that she would be able to wrest the seat from Pakatan Harapan based on her vast experience in assisting the people in various issues despite the hardship of being the opposition in Selangor.
"I am hopeful of winning if people choose me based on what I have done and not the party. If it was based on the (political) party, they would not see what we have done, no matter how much," she said.