PETALING JAYA: The move to drop ‘old fighters’ from the list of candidates for the 15th general election (GE15) is necessary to give new faces in the party a chance to shine, says PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The PKR Tambun candidate said this when he was asked to comment on a warning by former PKR vice-president Tian Chua that the party’s move to drop several incumbent MPs ahead of GE15 could hurt the party, FMT reports.
Anwar said younger politicians should be given the opportunity to contest the polls.
“I would like to emphasise to Tian Chua that we still need the support of these senior politicians to continue guiding the youth in the party.
“I met with him (Tian Chua) for a while and listened to his views yesterday. As I mentioned in my speech last night, not all the MPs can be maintained.
“Otherwise, the younger generation will not be able to come up the ranks,” Anwar was quoted as saying after an event in Bangi today.
Earlier today, Tian Chua said many people were disappointed with the decision, stating that “shuffling MPs and seats like cards” would hurt the party’s grassroots and frustrate the voters who supported PKR and their elected representatives.