Isa gets hero’s welcome at Umno assembly

He’s No. 1. Isa’s Bagan Pinang win has elevated his status in Umno. — Picture by Choo Choy May

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — Bagan Pinang by-election victor Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad was greeted with loud cheers and endless congratulatory wishes when he arrived on the red carpet, on the eve of Umno’s 2009 general assembly.

He was literally drowned, given his small stature, in the crowd of Umno leaders and supporters the moment he stepped through the main entrance of the party’s headquarters.

Isa was all smiles, looking sharp and clean shaven, his eyes glowing with pride, and came with an entourage of proud and loyal followers.

The cheers he received further boosted his spirits, already high after Sunday’s by-election victory, and he gave out a bigger smile.

Corrupt or not, this was the man that ended Umno and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) humiliating by-election losing streak and judging by his expression today, he knows it.

Isa had to battle opposition to his candidacy from many quarters, including veteran Umno leaders Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who pointed to his three-year suspension for money politics in 2005 as a reason to disqualify him from the by-election.

His past was exhumed and he was chided time and again but the welcome he received today may lead Isa to believe that black chapter in his life has finally come to an end.

And his re-entry to active politics could not have been done in better fashion.

Isa doubled the majority BN received in Election 2008 and pulled a significant amount of non-Malay votes back into the coalition’s fold — at a time when its non-Malay component parties are becoming irrelevant.

Out of the seven by-elections held in West Malaysia since the 2008 general elections, BN not only lost all but also by bigger majorities.

“This is a new start for the party, this victory will rejuvenate our spirit,” Isa told reporters who were abruptly alerted to his presence by the thunderous cheers that greeted him.

Isa will be among thousands of Umno delegates attending the annual assembly and an extraordinary general meeting later to vote on the party’s constitutional amendments seeking to abolish the quota system for top party posts.