Barisan almost has victory in hand with Isa, says Guan Eng

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Barisan Nasional is “almost guaranteed” to win the Bagan Pinang by-election if the coalition fields Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad as candidate, says DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He said Barisan had a 60% chance of winning the by-election on Oct 11 without the Teluk Kemang Umno division head, but with Mohd Isa, the probability increases to 70%.

One of several banners of former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad at Teluk Kemang in Port Dickson, giving rise to speculation that he could be in the running as the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election.

“To be honest, Mohd Isa definitely has strong support in Bagan Pinang. He has support from voters of all ages.

“But if you ask me why, I don’t know,” he said to reporters during the DAP Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Dewan MPAJ yesterday.

Lim, however, said Barisan Nasional and Umno could also suffer negative consequences if they fielded Mohd Isa, who was previously allegedly involved in money politics.

“You can win the Bagan Pinang by-election but lose the faith of the rest in Malaysia.

“But at the same time, Barisan cannot afford to lose the state seat. If they can’t retain Bagan Pinang, then they should not bother thinking about the rest of the country,” Lim added.

In Nilai,PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa said the party has short-listed three names for the by-election. “The candidate would be announced after the central committee meeting on Tuesday,” he said at his Hari Raya open house in Bandar Bukit Mahkota yesterday.

When pressed for further details, Nasharudin said: “When we enter the by-election, we enter with the intention to win. Of course we would pick a good candidate that would conquer Bagan Pinang.”

Nomination for the by-election is on Oct 3 and polling has been set for Oct 11.

The seat fell vacant following the death of Umno’s Azaman Mohammad Noor on Sept 4.