Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad is Umno’s controversial choice as candidate for Bagan Pinang, but he looks set to end the Opposition’s winning streak.
TAN Sri Mohd Isa Samad’s Hari Raya open house this year was a different story from the last two years.
The crowd that thronged his kampung house in the heart of Bagan Pinang yesterday seemed to sense that he would be the candidate for the by-election.
Making a comeback: Barisan supporters congratulating Isa in Port Dickson Tuesday. They were right. A little after 4pm yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced Isa as the one who would defend the state seat for Barisan Nasional.
“It had to be seen to be believed,” said a senior editor of the scene at the Port Dickson venue where the announcement was made.
Almost everybody who was somebody in Umno seemed to have made his way into town, the road was lined with cars and streams of people had to make their way on foot because of the jam.
It was, as the editor noted, a show of force.
Umno has never lost in Bagan Pinang, and the massive gathering was a major political statement that Umno intended to hold on to the seat.
But it was more than just about Umno. There was an undeniable multiracial atmosphere to the event, and this was important because Bagan Pinang is categorised as one of those mixed seats where Indian voters make up about 20% of the voters and Chinese about 10%.
Isa can easily win on the strength of Malay support, but to do really well he needs the non-Malays to root for him also.
This will be one of the most riveting by-elections for several reasons.
Bagan Pinang is an extremely crucial by-election for Umno. It really needs to nail this seat.
Losing in this particular stronghold will have disastrous implications for the party, particularly given that voting will take place just a few days before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak makes his first presidential address at the Umno general assembly.
Najib and Umno seriously need this political turning point to move ahead to the next general election.
That is the context for the choice of Isa, in spite of the fact that he was sacked from his Umno vice-president’s post after being found guilty of money politics during the 2004 party elections. It was a long fall from grace because it also cost him his Cabinet post.
Powerful voices such as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had argued that such political expediency will let Umno win the battle but not the war.
However, as some senior figures in Umno have pointed out, this is not just any old battle, it is a do-or-die battle for Umno. If Umno loses this particular battle, then it can forget about the war because it is not going to win the war either.
“This is politics, we want to win and it is a necessary compromise,” said former deputy minister Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
Moreover, as Muhyiddin said in Port Dickson yesterday, Umno had conducted several surveys to gauge who the people on the ground wanted as the candidate. The surveys were not only among Umno members but also among the different groups who make up the constituency.
“We went through the trouble because we want to give the people what they really want,” he said.
Muhyiddin, who will be in charge of the by-election, told the gathering that all the surveys came back with the same answer.
At this point, he asked the crowd: “Who do you want?”
They roared back: “Isa!”
By now, the normally serious-faced Muhyiddin was in tune with the mood on the floor. He put one hand to his ear and said: “Who? I can’t hear you.”
This time there was an even bigger roar: “Isa!”
Then with a big smile, Muhyiddin said: “Since you all want Isa, we will give you Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad.”
Isa, 59, will be entering this contest riding on a wave of popularity. It is evident he has a cult-like following among Umno members, not only in his own division but from all over.
A lot of it has to do with his personality and political style. Besides, he has touched the lives of many people in the state in his 21 years as Mentri Besar.
But he must also know that political expediency has its pluses and minuses – that his history is bound to be an issue in the campaign, even though his opponents have indicated they want to run a “classy” campaign.
Pakatan Rakyat will unveil its candidate today. This will be one of the few by-elections where the Pakatan is going in as the underdog. There will be no shortage of issues and colour in this high-stakes campaign.
The former strongman of Negri Sembilan is out to prove once again that he is a politician for all races.
But more than that, Isa is now charged with putting the brakes on Pakatan’s string of by-election wins.
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