GE 13 : Dial T for Transformation

The Transformation Team has energised the nomination landscape. In a masterstroke, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has cemented his reformist credentials and shown that Barisan Nasional is ready to embrace change. He has also forced Pakatan Rakyat on the back foot, with the Opposition coalition under pressure to replicate his move.
On Monday, Najib announced that 33 per cent of the Barisan Nasional candidates for parliamentary seats would be new faces, while 49 per cent of its candidates for the state assembly seats will be new.
This overhaul in candidates is unprecedented in Malaysian politics, and marks a brave move forward by the BN chairman.
With winnable candidates and fresh faces, the Transformation Team provides a good balance of experience and energy to deliver on BN's manifesto pledges.
This has also thrown Pakatan off balance. Mired as it is in seat disputes between PKR, DAP and PAS, the shaky coalition will be hard-pressed to keep up with BN.
The Opposition is, after all, hobbled by a top-heavy array of aging leaders who are in no mood to ride off into the sunset. 82-year old DAP spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and 72-year old DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang are not going to meekly retire to allow younger candidates to contest. Pakatan may well be forced to stick to status quo once again.
This could not be more different from BN, where several senior incumbents have decided to step aside to give Najib a free hand in choosing winnable candidates.
Najib had, after all, made it clear that political favouritism and expediency have no place in the new BN.
He has, in one bold move, got rid of any lingering warlords in BN without an internal revolution. This will ensure stability and continuity, while also attract a young generation of voters for whom merit and fresh ideas are important drivers. With a strong mandate at GE13, Najib can then implement his long-term reform agenda for Malaysia's transformation.
The range of candidates is impressive too. 91 per cent of BN's parliamentary candidates have at least a diploma, and one third are professionals, including academics, doctors, and lawyers.
No wonder Pakatan is facing huge pressure to prove it actually believes in change as much as it would like voters to think.
The family dynasties in Pakatan – DAP's Lim Kit Siang and his son Lim Guan Eng, and PKR's Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar – also stand out as relics of a bygone age, out of place in a modern Malaysia.
Will Pakatan have the courage to announce more fresh faces in its long-delayed candidates list, or will it fall back on its tired line-up of ancient candidates?