The youth wing’s permanent chairman, Wan Agyl Wan Hassan, said Umno must also demonstrate its ability to connect with voters and embrace modern policies that align with voters’ needs.

Fresh faces would convince voters that Umno is embracing a positive transformation, he said. However, the new candidates must have in-depth knowledge about their constituency and have a strong connection with voters in the area.

“These candidates should preferably bring some political or public service experience to the table, or at least showcase leadership potential,” Wan Agyl told FMT.

He said Umno should consider fielding new candidates to mirror the diverse tapestry of the country’s electorate in terms of background, profession, age, and gender to prove that the party is committed to representing the people it intends to serve.

He also said Umno should consider unconventional ideas in offering new candidates, such as naming “popular” Umno supporters, provided they garner widespread voters’ approval.

Wan Agyl was commenting on a recent call by Barisan Nasional strategic communications director Ahmad Shabery Cheek for BN to field more new faces in next month’s state elections.

He said BN should offer something “fresher” for the polls, although previous candidates were still considered relevant in some constituencies.

Umno is the leading party in the BN coalition and will enter the state elections on Aug 12 in an electoral pact with Pakaran Harapan, its former adversaries.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said Umno must nominate new candidates who can stand on their own, without links to any of the party’s top leaders or past candidates.

Candidates linked to the party’s top leadership would risk being dubbed as proxies of the leaders themselves, which will backfire on the party.

“A powerful strategy is that new faces must be at least around 50% to 60% of all Umno-BN candidates, but these new faces must not be related to old faces and party veterans,” Azmi said.