GE14 | Caretaker minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan hopes there will be a balanced candidate lineup of new and old faces for Sabah in the 14th general election (GE14).

Rahman, who is also Sabah BN secretary, said although new faces were needed, some incumbent assemblypersons, who had been delivering their services to the people well, should be maintained.

"So it is something that needs to be balanced," he said to reporters during his visit to Manggatal township in Sepanggar to witness drainage cleaning works in the town.

He said new faces did not mean young people but could also be people who had been around as civil servants and wanted to serve the people through the political arena.

"I think there will be some (new faces) but I am not too sure. This is entirely the prerogative of (caretaker) prime minister (Najib Abdul Razak) and the chief minister, on deciding who the candidates will be for Sabah," he said.

Asked on the people’s response in Sepanggar to him being the potential BN candidate in the constituency, Abdul Rahman said it was good and the voters there wanted him to bring them forward for a better future.

"It (Sepanggar) has all the ingredients. It has ports. It has a very wide-based industrial land...Sepanggar people are very open-minded people, allowing people from all over the country to stay in Sepanggar, provide jobs and business opportunities for them.

"That is the consistent message they give me if I were to become a candidate for the general election," he said.

--Bernama