JOHOR BARU: Despite all the hype about political parties introducing fresh faces in this state election to win over young and new voters, it looks like little will change, with the announcements made so far being all about retaining old faces.

       Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) has moved its Pulai Sebatang incumbent to contest the Mahkota seat while DAP has so far retained four incumbents and indications are that Pakatan Harapan will field many of its veterans.

       Barisan Nasional, too, will be keeping several of its incumbents. Johor Umno treasurer Datuk Md Jais Sarday said that while BN was still finalising its candidate list, there would be a mixture of new and old faces.

       “Just because there are 750,000 new and young voters, we cannot simply field all new faces. We need to field a good mix and take into account the track record of the incumbents,” he said in an interview.

       Jais said that campaigning during this election would be difficult due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

       “We will need to use social media to try to present our new candidates to the voters,” he said, adding that fielding incumbents would be easier as people already knew about them and their track records.

       Pasir Gudang Umno division youth chief Noor Azleen Ambros said the state election should be the chance for the party to project a new image that promises a brighter future.

       Umno, he said, could expose new talent available in the party’s leadership structure to show a new fresh image.

       “This will lay to rest accusations that Umno is under the control of certain groups. This is especially important with many claiming that the Johor election was called to fulfil the personal political agenda of leaders in the ‘court cluster’,” he added.

       Meanwhile, Johor Amanah deputy chairman Dzulkefly Ahmad said it was likely that Pakatan would favour fielding more incumbents than new candidates in the state polls due to the stricter standard operating procedures (SOP) they were expecting with the Omicron variant spike.

       He said Undi18 had made it important to field fresh faces but added that there must be a balance between fresh and experienced candidates who helped Pakatan win many seats in the last general election.

       “We are expecting an SOP similar to the one during the Melaka state election where house-to-house campaigning and ceramah will not be allowed.

       “Despite fielding many fresh faces in Melaka, Pakatan lost badly as we were unable to promote such candidates despite their professional backgrounds,” he added.

       Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia political analyst Dr Mohd Akbal Abdullah said parties contesting in Johor must ensure that their candidates are winnable, acceptable and likeable.

       “Malaysian voters will usually want to vote for the party of their choice first.

       “After that, they will look at the candidates and whether the incumbent has been doing his or her duty well or whether a new face with a good background can do a better job,” he said.

       Mohd Akbal warned that if political parties keep on fielding the same names as their candidates, it would spell trouble for them.

       He said the strict SOP for Covid-19 should be no excuse for fielding mostly incumbents.

       “It might be a turn-off for ‘fence sitters’ who want to see positive change from all political parties.

       “People are already bored with politics. Fielding the same faces over and over again will not attract them to come out and vote,” Mohd Akbal said.