Zainal said the state Umno had submitted five names in early 2017 for each of the five parliamentary and 15 state seats it wants to contest to be vetted for shortlisting.
Explaining that this was a new method, Zainal said the five names were submitted to Prime Minister Najib Razak.
“As at our last meeting with the prime minister at the end of last year, the names had been shortlisted from five to three, and these three names are still being analysed.
“No one has been confirmed as a candidate. But as for Penang Umno, we expect about 40% of our candidates will be new faces in the upcoming polls.
“There may also be a swap or two, for instance from contesting a parliamentary seat to a state seat. But nothing is confirmed as yet. The evaluation of potential candidates will continue until the 13th hour, as and when parliament is dissolved,” he told reporters after the Penang Economic Action Council meeting today.
Zainal said potential candidates had to pass several tests, such as the level of acceptance by the people, their contributions to the community, their calibre as leaders, trustworthiness, as well as levels of integrity and confidence.
In terms of seat distribution among Barisan Nasional components, Zainal said the status quo would remain, with Umno continuing to contest in 15 state seats and five parliamentary seats in the state.
“In my opinion, a large proportion of seats will be contested by the original parties, save for a few seats which may be swapped among parties. But this is up to the respective parties,” he said, adding that this would be decided later.
Zainal said there would be no “parachute candidates”, and that all candidates shortlisted were from Penang.
In the last general election, BN only managed to secure 10 state seats in Penang, out of the 40 seats it contested. All 10 seats are currently held by Umno assemblymen – three on the island, and seven on the mainland.
As for parliamentary seats, the BN, through Umno, managed to secure three seats out of the 13 it contested.