Isa Samad confident Felda scandals won't hurt his chances in PD
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INDEPENDENT candidate Isa Samad is confident that his alleged involvement in several Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) scandals will not come back to haunt him in the Port Dickson by-election.
Dismissing the controversies as mere political ploys, the former Negri Sembilan menteri besar believes that voters will look at his 40-year track record in the army town and back him in the October 13 polls.
“It will not have an impact. The Felda issue was a political issue. The Felda issue will not be much of a problem with locals,” he told The Malaysian Insight in an interview in Port Dickson recently.
Isa’s tenure as Felda chairman – from 2011 to last year – was tainted by scandals that included shady land deals and hotel purchases. He was investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and police over his alleged involvement.
In August last year, he was detained by MACC for five days.
Isa said the issues were concocted by Pakatan Harapan in its bid to win over Felda voters.
“The then opposition attacked Felda because Felda has a large number of voters. They (PH) created the issues. My case is more of a political case.
“People (in Port Dickson) will not be affected by the issues in Felda. They know me. I have served this area for 40 years.”
The former Teluk Kemang Umno chief is up against PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim, retired air force officer Mohd Nazari Mokhtar of PAS, and four independents, including Anwar’s former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Isa was Linggi assemblyman for five terms, and won the Bagan Pinang state seat in a by-election in 2009. The two seats are in the Port Dickson parliamentary constituency. He was also Jempol MP.
The following are excerpts from Isa’s interview with The Malaysian Insight:
Q: What motivated you to run in Port Dickson?
A: I made a decision after the seat was vacated. People in Port Dickson asked me to contest. This is a good opportunity. This (vacating of the seat) should not have happened. It has been only four months (since the 14th general election).
Q: Are you being sponsored by anyone to run? Did someone in Umno get you to do this?
A: No one. I am paying for myself. If someone can afford to sponsor me, the price would be very high.
Q: If you win, will you return to Umno or join another party?
A: I have not thought about it that far. I want to win first before I think of anything else. I left Umno because I wanted to contest this by-election. I left before they sacked me for going against the party.
Q: What issues in Port Dickson will you address if you win?
A: There are flooding problems here. It is a complicated issue. The infrastructure around here also needs to be improved. Port Dickson is a tourist town, so we need to be up to date.
Q: Armed forces personnel make up at least 9% of the voters here. How do you plan on winning their votes?
A: They have always supported me. I hope they will also give their support this time. But, we do not have access to the armed forces area. We don’t have an opportunity to mingle with them. The only way is via newspapers and social media. I hope they are aware. – September 30, 2018.