PORT DICKSON, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the selection of Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Bagan Pinang state by-election was made because this was the wish of the local populace.
He said the decision was made after the top leadership had carried out a detailed survey at the grassroots level among the Malays, Chinese and Indians in the state constituency.
They had expressed their support for Mohd Isa because they had known the people-friendly leader for a long time and knew his contributions to the people of Port Dickson and Negeri Sembilan, he said.
"That's why in my speech earlier, I did not make my own decision because of his popularity and also the wishes of the constituents. And they (the residents) said Isa! Isa! Isa! They mentioned it thrice, only then did I announce it because that is the choice of the voters here," he told reporters at the Bagan Pinang Aidilfitri gathering after announcing Mohd Isa as the BN candidate for the by-election.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the decision was in favour of the voters because it was a by-election and the scenario was not the same as that of a general election.
Mohd Isa, 59, had once served as the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar for 22 years from April 1982 until March 2004.
"He may have a political history, just like I have my history and problems, but the local populace, the voters who know him inside-out are confident he is capable," he said.
Muhyiddin said he knew that the opposition would exploit the various issues especially the one on money politics linked to Mohd Isa to discredit the leader.
The Deputy Prime Minister was confident that the BN had made the correct choice when fielding Mohd Isa as the candidate, and hoped that the voters would continue to give the BN a chance to represent the people in Bagan Pinang.
"We will continue with the efforts to bring development because Bagan Pinang is a strategic area, a major portion of it is Port Dickson itself, which has vast potentials. So, we will develop it for tourism and commerce so that it will become more progressive," he said.
He said Mohd Isa's experience would be optimised to develop the constituency because he had the wisdom in terms of administration when he was in the federal and state governments.
-- BERNAMA
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