PUTRAJAYA: Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today described the party's candidate list for the 14th General Election (GE14) as "having a balance between old and new faces."
Tengku Adnan, popularly known as Ku Nan, also confirmed that the party's two top leaders have received a copy of the list for them to consider.
"I am confident there is a balance (in the candidate list) between new and old faces. But, our approach is a bit different now as we pick candidates who are likeable by the people, and not by the party or certain quarters.
"We want a balance of candidates comprising the experienced, women and the young," he said.
As for the "old faces" who were defeated in the last general election, Tengku Adnan said they could still contest but must submit reasons of their defeat and pitch their plans on how to win the polls.
"They have to also be prepared and accept the reality if they are not chosen," he added.
He said Umno had its own mechanism in selecting the candidates, aside from the normal screening processes by certain agencies such as the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Insolvency Department.
On the other component parties, who had submitted their candidate lists, Tengku Adnan believed the parties had done so because the parties had a shorter candidate list and less number of seats compared to Umno.