No 'direct candidate' from Sarawak in GE14

KUCHING: The 'direct candidate' formula applied by the Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) during the last state election will not be adopted in the coming 14th General Election (GE14).
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said this was because, GE14 would only involve parliamentary seats in Sarawak.
BN should also take into consideration candidates in the peninsula and Sabah, if the party were to adopt the direct candidate formula in the GE14, he said when met after officiating the Kampung Kudei Lama/Baru steel bridge in Jalan Rubber West here today.
Asked whether as the state BN chairman, he had absolute power to decide on the party candidates from Sarawak contesting in the GE14, Abang Johari said "not absolute".
The direct candidate formula which was inspired by former chief minister, the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem and applied by the Sarawak BN during the state election in 2016 referred to those from any BN-friendly parties who were given the privilege to contest under BN ticket, provided that they resign from their parties.
The adoption of the formula also saw BN securing a landslide victory in the 11th Sarawak state election with the party's direct candidates having won 11 out of the 13 seats contested. — Bernama