In my comments on A Voice's post of 8 September 2009, I said that given the current political scenario, UMNO will be committing political suicide if it chooses Isa as the Bagan Pinang candidate. No matter how much his supporters argue about his loyalty, strength, ability to garner support, his good deeds as ex-MB, etc., he is, and seen as, already tainted. I opined that it's important for UMNO to close ranks in Bagan Piang/NS. In this context, the most honourable act would be for Isa to reject any offer to contest, give way to a clean candidate, and show full support and commitment to the selected candidate. No one should fail to see that DS Najib's efforts and measures to win the support of Chinese and Indian votes did not translate into votes and wins for BN in previous by-elections. We can expect the same thing to happen in Bagan Pinang if UMNO fail to learn the harsh lessons of those by-elections. I should add here that Isa's son should also not be selected, for even if the son is clean, he (and UMNO) will still not be able to escape his father's stigma being exploited by the PR campaigners in Bagan Pinang.
Up until his statement in Port Dickson on 25th September, as reported by Berita Harian dan Utusan Malaysia, Isa had remained relatively silent, letting his division people and supporters do the talking and promoting. It seemed that there's nothing else in their mind except the good things about Isa; his past was a small aberration and, being human, should be forgiven. At that time, only Isa's name had been mentioned and trumpeted. The UMNO Deputy President has raised the need for more than one nominees, but the Teluk Kemang Division had remained steadfast in its choice of Isa. Nothing much was mentioned of other potential candidates.
His silence, i.e. not coming to the forefront and stating his stance, was telling in that it appeared to betray an ulterior motive. He seemed to be quietly endorsing the push for his candidacy from various quarters and let the UMNO leadership grapple with the issue but eventually would be forced to accept it. It was as though he was sending a message that he had, or was forced, to stand as candidate because it's the will of his Division and the grassroots. He seemed to be forcing the issue; it was like engineering a fait accompli. It's hard not to be critical of his motives. That is not the qualities we expect of a party leader. A party leader is a servant of the party, not vice-versa.
In addition, the aforementioned Berita Harian dan Utusan reports contained contradictory statements from Isa. In the Berita Harian report, Isa said that the Teluk Kemang Division had already submitted the names of three candidates for consideration of party leaders. In the Utusan report, however, Isa stated that the list of candidates had not yet been submitted to party leaders and that he would do so at the appropriate time. Unless there is an oversight by the two papers or by Isa himself, we can take them as they were.
Now, in the same Berita Harian report, Isa gave his guarantee that he would assist UMNO in ensuring a victory in the by-elections regardless of whether he is selected as candidate or not. Nevertheless, Isa's previous silence on his candidacy and his contradictory statements on the list of candidates had created unnecessary attention to himself and UMNO and has become a needless issue. Even now, it seems to be all about Isa and no one else. All things point to, and centers on, Isa. He could have easily preempted the problem by coming to the forefront and rejecting any offer to stand as candidate.
Many party leaders and individuals have come out in support of Isa. Some have tried to rationalise the issue - that even a clean candidate is no guarantee of victory and that what is more important is leadership and voter's acceptance. They argued that a leader who has been found guilty of money politics can be given another chance if he has repented and has continued to show undivided loyalty to the party. Others have alleged that he was framed and that it was a conspiracy engineered by certain quarters during Pak Lah's reign. Such reasonings seem hallow because they still show support for a tainted candidate, which is another way of saying they endorse corruption. It does not matter how valid or otherwise the arguments, it's the voters who vote, not anybody else outside Bagan Pinang. Are they going to say the same thing if they persist with Isa's selection and then lose the by-elections? In any case, it is doubted that the PR elections machinery and, most notably, the voters would buy these arguments. Isa's past history, true or otherwise, has created sufficient perception for the PR campaigners to manipulate, as they had done in Permatang Pasir. Given the current political climate and recent successive by-elections defeats, the risk is too great to take.
What do we make of Isa's contradictory statements as regard the list of candidates? It's only two days away before UMNO announces its candidate. If it's true that the list has not been submitted, then by leaving things hanging without even an appearance of resolution and giving indication that the party is still grappling with the issue, surely does not bode well for the party. UMNO should know better than to put itself at a disadvantage even before the by-election begins.
Now that Isa have his assurance that he would support whoever is selected as candidate, the question remains, will he walk the talk? Will he make sure that he will be able to contain any effort to sabotage the candidate and the party (which has already happened before in previous by-elections)? Will he be able to keep in check the egotistical and self-serving inclinations of his Divisional leaders and campaigners? Whatever he does, UMNO should keep reminding itself that the biggest problem lies within the party itself, notably those within Isa's camp and others who fight for themselves instead of the party.
In all, UMNO should learn the lesson of not shooting itself in the foot by drawing attention to a needless issue - an issue that could have been preempted in the first place.
Up until his statement in Port Dickson on 25th September, as reported by Berita Harian dan Utusan Malaysia, Isa had remained relatively silent, letting his division people and supporters do the talking and promoting. It seemed that there's nothing else in their mind except the good things about Isa; his past was a small aberration and, being human, should be forgiven. At that time, only Isa's name had been mentioned and trumpeted. The UMNO Deputy President has raised the need for more than one nominees, but the Teluk Kemang Division had remained steadfast in its choice of Isa. Nothing much was mentioned of other potential candidates.
His silence, i.e. not coming to the forefront and stating his stance, was telling in that it appeared to betray an ulterior motive. He seemed to be quietly endorsing the push for his candidacy from various quarters and let the UMNO leadership grapple with the issue but eventually would be forced to accept it. It was as though he was sending a message that he had, or was forced, to stand as candidate because it's the will of his Division and the grassroots. He seemed to be forcing the issue; it was like engineering a fait accompli. It's hard not to be critical of his motives. That is not the qualities we expect of a party leader. A party leader is a servant of the party, not vice-versa.
In addition, the aforementioned Berita Harian dan Utusan reports contained contradictory statements from Isa. In the Berita Harian report, Isa said that the Teluk Kemang Division had already submitted the names of three candidates for consideration of party leaders. In the Utusan report, however, Isa stated that the list of candidates had not yet been submitted to party leaders and that he would do so at the appropriate time. Unless there is an oversight by the two papers or by Isa himself, we can take them as they were.
Now, in the same Berita Harian report, Isa gave his guarantee that he would assist UMNO in ensuring a victory in the by-elections regardless of whether he is selected as candidate or not. Nevertheless, Isa's previous silence on his candidacy and his contradictory statements on the list of candidates had created unnecessary attention to himself and UMNO and has become a needless issue. Even now, it seems to be all about Isa and no one else. All things point to, and centers on, Isa. He could have easily preempted the problem by coming to the forefront and rejecting any offer to stand as candidate.
Many party leaders and individuals have come out in support of Isa. Some have tried to rationalise the issue - that even a clean candidate is no guarantee of victory and that what is more important is leadership and voter's acceptance. They argued that a leader who has been found guilty of money politics can be given another chance if he has repented and has continued to show undivided loyalty to the party. Others have alleged that he was framed and that it was a conspiracy engineered by certain quarters during Pak Lah's reign. Such reasonings seem hallow because they still show support for a tainted candidate, which is another way of saying they endorse corruption. It does not matter how valid or otherwise the arguments, it's the voters who vote, not anybody else outside Bagan Pinang. Are they going to say the same thing if they persist with Isa's selection and then lose the by-elections? In any case, it is doubted that the PR elections machinery and, most notably, the voters would buy these arguments. Isa's past history, true or otherwise, has created sufficient perception for the PR campaigners to manipulate, as they had done in Permatang Pasir. Given the current political climate and recent successive by-elections defeats, the risk is too great to take.
What do we make of Isa's contradictory statements as regard the list of candidates? It's only two days away before UMNO announces its candidate. If it's true that the list has not been submitted, then by leaving things hanging without even an appearance of resolution and giving indication that the party is still grappling with the issue, surely does not bode well for the party. UMNO should know better than to put itself at a disadvantage even before the by-election begins.
Now that Isa have his assurance that he would support whoever is selected as candidate, the question remains, will he walk the talk? Will he make sure that he will be able to contain any effort to sabotage the candidate and the party (which has already happened before in previous by-elections)? Will he be able to keep in check the egotistical and self-serving inclinations of his Divisional leaders and campaigners? Whatever he does, UMNO should keep reminding itself that the biggest problem lies within the party itself, notably those within Isa's camp and others who fight for themselves instead of the party.
In all, UMNO should learn the lesson of not shooting itself in the foot by drawing attention to a needless issue - an issue that could have been preempted in the first place.
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