Isa will hurt BN's chances in by-election, say PR leaders

Written by Sharon Tan, The Edge

Support for former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Tan Sri Isa Samad as the Barisan Nasional's (BN) candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election will work against the coalition, say leaders of the rival Pakatan Rakyat (PR) group.

"He is a liability," said PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali at a press conference here today. "He was suspended (from the post of Umno vice-president and Teluk Kemang division chief). He had to quit the cabinet."

Isa, who is the Teluk Kemang Umno division chief, is seen to be favoured by some state Umno leaders for the by-election. An alternative choice is his son Mohd Najib, who is the division's deputy youth chief.

"Of course he (Isa) may have done a lot for Umno, but I don't think Umno will field him," said Mustafa. It would be difficult for BN to explain how it could field a candidate that the party has penalised for money politics during the 2004 party election and subsequently had to resign from his cabinet post, he said.

Teluk Kemang MP Datuk Kamarul Baharin Abbas of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) said: "BN and Umno have a problem. They cannot find a suitable candidate."

However, according to Kamarul, winning the by-election would not be easy "because of the 5,000 postal votes". "That is our problem, not the candidate," he added.

Mustafa said that PAS has yet to consider Mohd Najib's chances and whether his father's baggage would affect him.

The PAS central committee is expected to meet on Sept 13 to discuss the up-coming by-election, which is due following the death of BN's Azman Mohamed Noor. Mustafa said the party would field a candidate from the state.

"We have a lot of candidates. The previous candidate will be among those short-listed," said Mustafa. At the 2008 general election, PAS fielded Ramli Ismail who lost to BN's Azman by a 2,333-vote margin.

Commenting on its party's chance of winning, Mustapa said: "Our problem is the postal voters. The majority go with the BN."

Mustafa acknowledged that the only occasion the postal votes favoured the opposition was at the 2000 Teluk Kemang by-election, which PKR won.

In the last election, PAS lost by 500 votes to BN in Bagan Pinang, without taking into account the postal votes.

The Election Commission will meet on Sept 14 to set the nomination and polling dates.