GE14: Gerakan to choose candidates early

Gerakan will be choosing its candidates for the 14th General Election (GE14), which must be held at the latest by 2018, well before its date is announced, said its president Datuk Mah Siew Keong.

He said they would be highly capable candidates to boost their chances of winning.

"If we choose our candidates early, it will give them more time to strategise and use their experience to win over voters.

"This because each constituency will require a different strategy," he said when open Gerakan Life Members meeting in conjunction with the party's 43rd National Delegates Conference (NDC) which started here Friday.

According to Mah, this step was important for Gerakan's continued survival in view of the changed political landscape.

"This is a fact we must accept. Ten years ago, we had more than 40 MPs, but in 2008, we only had two MPs and four assemblymen and after 2013, just one MP and three assemblymen," he said, adding that Gerakan had to "pull up its socks" if it wanted to return to its heydays.