KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 – Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today he will meet Negeri Sembilan Umno officials tomorrow to discuss the party’s candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election.
The Barisan Nasional election director said the candidate would be finalised after the Hari Raya celebration this weekend.
“We will decide on the candidate soon, let us celebrate Hari Raya first,” Muhyiddin told reporters when asked whether the coalition has decided on the candidate.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the Teluk Kemang Umno division is in favour of fielding its chief Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, who was the Negeri Sembilan mentri besar for 22 years until 2004.
Isa also commands the support of the majority of Umno’s eight division chiefs in the state.
His candidacy would be controversial, however, as the former Federal Territories minister was found guilty of vote buying by his own party in 2005 and had his Umno membership suspended for three years.
Muhyiddin had previously expressed his hope that the division would propose more than one name to allow the central leadership to assess the candidates more objectively.
Nomination for the Bagan Pinang by-election will be held on October 3 while polling has been set on October 11.
The by-election was called following the death of Umno’s Azman Mohammad Noor on Sept 4, who defeated PAS’s Ramli Ismail by some 2,000 votes last year.
Bagan Pinang is an Umno stronghold situated within the Teluk Kemang parliamentary constituency represented by PKR’s Datuk Kamarul Baharin Abbas.
Apart from Bagan Pinang, Umno also won the neighbouring Linggi state seat during last year’s election, while PR controls three other state seats in Teluk Kemang: Chuah (PKR), Lukut (DAP) and Port Dickson (PKR).
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--choose Isa Samad, other factions will sabotage,
--not choosing Isa Samad,his supporters will sabotage,
--choosing a neutral candidate, both camps will sabotage
Dr.M's comment that Isa Samad is a bad candidate will further aggravate the situation. This will encourage the factions who are unhappy with the result of the the selection vote either to support or against the selected candidate.
--The supporters of Isa Samad wants to prove that Dr.M is wrong
--The factions who oppose Isa Samad want to prove that Dr.M is right.
------they are in real scare and not playing their normal game. They made mistake before and this does not mean that they won't make the same again.
....the chance of PAS is brightened. Reducing the loss vote is considered as a "win" to PAS.