[Malaysia] ISA Found Guilty!

The New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur
25 June 2005

ISA found guilty six-year suspension
Zubaidah Abu Bakar, Sheridan Mahavera and P. Sharmini

Federal Territories Minister and Umno vice-president Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad was today suspended from the ruling party for six years for vote-buying.

He has 14 days to appeal the decision by the party’s disciplinary board. If his appeal fails, he will have to resign from the Cabinet and will become the most senior Umno politician to be found guilty of political corruption.

The board also suspended his political secretary Salim Sharif for three years for acting as his agent. The New Straits Times understands that the board’s decision will be made public at a news conference on Monday.

When contacted tonight, Isa said: "I do not know. You know more than I do. So I leave it to you to write whatever you want to write because you know more."

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters at Isa's Si Rusa residence in Port Dickson, Salim said the Federal Territories Minister was found guilty of five out of the nine charges.

He said he received the three-page letter informing them of the suspension today. It was signed by board chairman Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail.

Salim said he and Isa, who appeared before the board to answer the charges yesterday, were saddened and also surprised that a guilty verdict was arrived at less than 24 hours later.

"We are going to appeal, either on Monday or Tuesday," he said.

Isa faced seven charges of vote-buying, including three of bribing delegates, to win an Umno vice-presidency during last September's party polls.

He garnered the highest number of votes in the contest for the three posts of vice-president.

He also faced two other charges of organising gatherings for delegates who would cast their votes in the party's polls, a practice prohibited under Umno’s Code of Ethics.

The nine offences were allegedly committed last September at Isa’s home State of Negri Sembilan and in Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Sabah and Kedah.

He was charged following reports by more than 30 people. All the complainants were granted immunity by the disciplinary board.

Seven Umno leaders vied for the three vice-presidential positions with Isa emerging the clear leader with 1,507 votes.

His nearest rival, Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam, obtained 1,329 votes.

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The Star, Kuala Lumpur
26 June 2005

Saying "no" to money politics

A top Umno vice-president found guilty of vote buying and the on-going debate about party election reform suggest that Umno is quite serious about stamping out money politics in the party, writes JOCELINE TAN.

ONLY the crown of Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad's head could be seen as media people swamped him the moment he emerged from his hearing before the Umno disciplinary board.

In the media frenzy, his aides and security officers at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) had to form a human cordon around the pint-sized Umno vice-president as he inched his way toward his black Perdana Executive.

He was the first really big name to be called before the disciplinary board, hence the heightened media interest.

Isa, dressed in a 60s-style beige, checked suit and yellow tie, tried to smile but he looked tensed and tired, as though he had not been sleeping well.

The usually loquacious politician was not taking any questions from the press. He had just spent two hours before the board answering to charges of misconduct and money politics during the Umno elections last year.

Isa, who is also Federal Territories Minister, had good reason to be worried.

The next day, barely 28 hours after he left the PWTC, the board notified him of his six-year suspension.

The man who made history in 1982 when he became Negri Sembilan's youngest Mentri Besar was now making history as the highest-ranking party official nailed for money politics and campaign misconduct. Isa intends to appeal but he is also staring a very possible end to his 27-year political career, 22 of which was spent as Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar

The last few months have found Umno tackling the money politics issue in a way not seen before.

A great deal of this has been as a result of the relatively free hand given to the disciplinary board headed by Umno veteran Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen.

The Umno rank and file has been clamouring for tighter rules against money politics particularly after the last party polls. People complained that only the "small fish" had been netted.

Why, they had asked, is the "big fish" still swimming when the money had flowed most freely during the campaign in the contests for the supreme council and vice-presidents’ posts.

Yet, strangely enough, there has been no baying for Isa's blood. Instead, there was a discernible wave of sympathy from among Umno members for this top vice-president.

There are a few reasons for this.

First: The fact that Isa has been the only big name fingered and his hardcore supporters are naturally prone to ask why he is being singled out.

Second: The lightning speed of the board’s decision. It raised eyebrows in Umno.

Third: Isa is known for his grassroots ties and oratory. He may be short and ordinary-looking, but his wit and deft touch as an orator are quite unrivalled and he always finds a captive audience when he speaks at the Umno general assembly.

Fourth: He is also going through some personal crisis. His wife, Puan Sri Hazizah Tumin, is quite ill. She had been recovering from glandular cancer for some years but the disease is said to have recently spread to a vital organ.

She was being treated in Bangkok where he had been spending time with her.

The Malay cultural trait of "kesian" or compassion cannot be underestimated and many party members have empathy with him.

There was muted reaction to Isa's dilemma even in Johor, where Umno politicians have been vocal over proposals for election reform in the party.

"I don’t know what to say. I was one of those who said they should go for the big and small fish but I felt quite sad for Tan Sri Isa," said one Johor politician.

Isa’s case has set a precedent in the party.

It is never easy to act against one’s own party member. That such a high-ranking party official has been called in for alleged vote-buying shows how serious Umno seems to be about the problem of money politics.

At another level, Umno is now mulling over reforms to its election system, the primary aim being to stamp out money politics.

Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who heads the party’s rules and constitution committee, has come up with several scenarios on changes to the election process and code of ethics.

Basically, Muhyiddin's proposals involved broadening the voter base to varying degrees – from an option where all three million members are allowed to vote to one where elections are held at state level.

The current system has only about 2,000 delegates deciding on the national leadership once every three years. The proposals are still at the discussion stage but Johor Umno recently caused a stir when several of its key politicians rejected the proposals. Apparently, the Johor discussion on the above proposals took place at a state party meeting. Several Johor leaders, including three ministers, spoke up and they were generally not in favour of the proposals.

They were not convinced that "bringing the vote to the ground," as the outspoken Datuk Mohamed Aziz put it, would reduce the clout of corrupt candidates vying for positions.

"Our argument is simple. You bring the vote down to the grassroots and you are also bringing money politics nearer to the ground," said Mohamed, who is Sri Gading MP and one of Johor’s most senior politicians.

The southern objection stunned many in the party especially since several other states like Pahang, Penang and Perlis had backed the proposals. The Johor stand was quickly interpreted as personal politics, even warlord politics.

The implication was that Mentri Besar Datuk Ghani Othman was playing politics since it is well known that he and Muhyiddin are not exactly political buddies.

"That’s nonsense. We spoke up because we did not think the proposals were practical. It had nothing to do with state politics," said Mohamed. To be fair to Ghani, the issue was not even on the meeting’s agenda. Neither did he take part in the discussion.

"I was just a listener. I did not express any opinion," said Ghani. The final Johor stand will probably come at the annual Johor Umno convention on July 9, the party’s annual prelude to the Umno general assembly.

Three papers will be presented at the convention, including one on "Politics" by no less than Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Samad. He is also expected to dwell on reform concerning money politics.

But why has there been so much fuss over the southern stand?

For a start, it is the only state to have discussed Muhyiddin’s proposals in a formal setting. Elsewhere, it has been mainly the state Umno chiefs expressing their opinion.

Besides, Johor is the undisputed bastion of Umno. Its members are among the most rational and sophisticated in the country and its leaders feel that the burden of cleaning up the party rests heavily on their shoulders. "The crux of the problem lies in enforcement, in controlling the candidates rather than the delegates," said Ghani.

And, as Umno Youth chief Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein Onn said, rules and regulations work to a certain extent but the long-term solution lies in a change of attitude among members about election, leadership and politics.