FORMER Negri Sembilan menteri besar Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad’s return to UMNO will boost the unity coalition’s chances in the upcoming state election, said Akademi Nusantara’s Prof Dr Azmi Hassan.
“Isa, who held the menteri besar’s post for 22 years, is still influential, especially in Negri Sembilan,” Free Malaysia Today reported the analyst as saying.
“With Barisan Nasional (BN) working together with Pakatan Harapan (PH), and looking at Perikatan Nasional (PN) going all-out to capture Negri Sembilan in the upcoming election, I would say it (Isa’s return) will benefit UMNO, BN and in a way, the unity government and also PH.”
According to Azmi, he is of the opinion that Isa will not be a candidate for the upcoming state election, but he will be playing a critical role in terms of campaigning for the unity government and BN because of his influence in Negri Sembilan.
He added that the former FELDA chairman would be rejoining UMNO as an ordinary member and would not affect the existing hierarchy in the party, particularly at the state level.
On May 27, UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki announced that Isa had been reinstated in the party. The former Jempol MP had applied to rejoin UMNO in July 2022.
Isa left UMNO in October 2018 to run as an independent in the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election after the party failed to field a candidate.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim received 31,016 votes in Port Dickson while PAS member Nazari Mokhtar received 7,456 votes. Isa received 4,230 votes in the multi-cornered contest.
Universiti Malaya Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi noted that Isa’s return to UMNO will improve the party’s grassroots support.
“I don’t think he will contest (the state election), but he is expected to campaign for UMNO to attract voters, especially those of the older generation, those who are his age,” said Awang.
He pointed out that UMNO’s focus now is on fielding fresh faces in the election.
Isa is appealing his conviction on nine charges of corruption involving RM3.09 mil in connection with FELDA’s 2014 purchase of a hotel in Kuching. The hearing has been scheduled for June 26 – June 1, 2023
Main photo credit: The Star
