Abang Johari (fourth left) and his wife Datin Patinggi Dato Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang (third left) give the thumbs-up as they pose for a group photo with Idris (third right), Ibrahim (second right) and PBB Satok branch members.
KUCHING: Potential state Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates will be screened by relevant agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) before they can be officially fielded to stand for the coalition in the 14th general election (GE14).
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said this was to ensure that the candidates selected by state component parties such as PBB, SUPP, PRS and PDP possess a good and clean record to prevent unwanted situations from occurring later on.
“If a candidate has a personal record, we won’t be able to know but if they are screened by relevant agencies such as the Immigration Department, police, MACC and so on, they can check for us.
“We do not want to have candidates to stand during the parliamentary election and then later find out that they are disqualified due to reasons such as they are not Malaysian, for instance,” he told a press conference after officiating the PBB Satok Triennial Delegates Meeting here yesterday.
The state BN chairman stressed that the coalition must not take the matter for granted as they would risk facing controversy much like the one involving DAP’s Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon, who was initially disqualified by the State Legislative Assembly for having dual citizenship in Australia and Malaysia before the decision was overruled by the Kuching High Court.
“Whether the decision is correct or not, we let the court decide on that. But what is most important now is that we must screen our candidates properly and not take things for granted.
“We don’t want to have another by-election halfway through the term. The candidates must be screened first otherwise ‘rakyat akan rugi’ (the people will be on the losing end),” he stressed.
Meanwhile, when asked if PBB had finalised its list of candidates for the general election, Abang Johari, who is party president, preferred to keep a tight lid on the names of candidates he would be fielding for BN.
“Kelak la, you nanya I the list (Ask for the list from me later),” he told reporters which led to those in the press conference to burst out laughing.
However, when pressed on whether there were any new faces in the list, Abang Johari would only confirm that there would be new faces contesting this coming election.
On whether there would be any state elected representatives contesting as parliamentary candidate, he said as far as PBB was concerned, there would be none.
“But I would like for other state component parties to do the same. This is to give chance to others…it’s better (this way) and it’s also for enrichment,” he remarked.
Also present at the press conference were PBB Supreme Council member Datuk Idris Buang, who is also Muara Tuang assemblyman, and PBB Satok branch deputy chairman Ibrahim Baki.