BN to discuss GE13 readiness

(The Star) – The Barisan Nasional supreme council will meet on June 29 to discuss the preparedness of its election machinery amid rife speculation of impending polls.

The Barisan caucus comes a week after the Umno supreme council meets on June 22.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has already met all Barisan component party leaders individually and received from them their final list of candidates as the guessing game continues on whether the general election would be held in July, September or much later.

Barisan secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor said the Barisan meeting would examine the election machinery.

“We want to make sure that our machinery is well-oiled.

“We also want to identify weaknesses so that we can take immediate action to rectify them.

“We are moving swiftly forward in our preparations to make sure everything is in place once the election date is announced,” he told The Star.

The meeting is also expected to look into seat allocation and the swapping of constituencies among component parties, one of the more sensitive issues that had caused problems for the coalition in the 2008 polls.

Tengku Adnan said the meeting would not discuss the list of potential candidates.

“That (choosing the candidates) is the prerogative of our chairman.

“Only he can decide on the final list.”

He said the potential candidates would be thoroughly vetted.

“A whiff of scandal, and they are out,” he added.