BN Puteri establishment important as party prepares for GE15 - Zahid

He said the approval which would be sanctioned at the BN Supreme Council meeting in August would also see new BN Puteri candidates being nominated to contest in GE15.

"The reality before us is that, if we want to win, we must feature more new faces as proven in the Melaka state election, when 87 per cent were new faces and we managed to win over two-thirds majority.

"The formula adopted in the Johor and Melaka polls was the best and we will do better than that, we prioritised on fresh faces after learning from the political tsunami in GE14," he told a press conference after officiating at the BN Puteri convention here today.

According to him, preparation for BN Puteri, a combination of the female youth wings of component parties such as Puteri MIC and Beliawanis (MCA) was at the optimum, thus showing the seriousness of the BN machinery in facing the challenges of the upcoming polls.

"I see that among the component parties, the effort to strengthen BN is clearer and definitely we must set aside our differences," he said.

Meanwhile, commenting on the Anti-Party Hopping Bill that was passed, Zahid said the matter is a manifestation of the agreement of all political parties to ensure that the trust placed by the people in leaders is protected.

Earlier, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022, to create a provision prohibiting Members of Parliament (MPs) from changing parties, received the support of more than two-thirds of MPs, with 209 out of 220 MPs being in favour.

Meanwhile, women should be given equal opportunity to stand as candidates in the upcoming GE15, said Puteri UMNO chief Datuk Zahida Zarik Khan.

She said the diversity of women in Barisan Nasional (BN) could strengthen women's empowerment and gender equality agenda.

"When it comes to appealing for votes - leave it to us women, counting votes - women, working on the computer and managing voters database - young women, handling irate customers at call centres - young women. But when it comes to selecting candidates, we are the last choice," she said in her speech at the inaugural BN Puteri Convention here today.

She said in the past, the highest position for women in UMNO was only the Wanita chief post, but now five divisions are being led by women, among them Pengerang, Johor, Pendang and Sungai Petani (Kedah), Maran (Pahang) and Beluran in Sabah.

She added that this was proof that women's empowerment starts within Puteri UMNO itself.