Former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad has denied being planted by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to contest in the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election.
Mohd Isa insisted that he had never met the premier either before or after the 14th General Election (GE14).
“I was not placed or directed by Tun M. I did not meet him and there was no reason to see him.
“This type of rumours normally created by PKR’s leaders. This is normal and I can handle this matter. Usually, people make rumours in the elections, including this sort of thing. This is not the first time I’m contesting, but this is the 10th time, I do not have to be taught by anyone,” he said.
Mohd Isa claimed that such conspiracy theories were designed and disseminated by certain PKR leaders to confuse the situation.
“If anyone wants to put me in there, what’s wrong?” he said in jest.
Meanwhile, Mohd Isa also said that Umno’s decision to take legal action against its elected representatives who crossed over to the opposition camp was nothing more than a scare tactic which would never work.
Isa, who was the former Teluk Kemang Umno division chief said his former party will never succeed in fighting such cases in court.
He said no one would gain any benefit from carrying out such actions.
“As a person who had been there in the party for a long period, we used to fill a form promising to relinquish our seats if we leave the party. However, it was rejected by the court.
“Who knows, maybe this time around they have legal experts looking into the matter.
“For me, it is just to scare people,” Isa said.
Mohd Isa was referring Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s statement on Saturday at the Umno General Assembly that summons writ had been delivered to elected representatives who had recently left the party.
Zahid said Umno wanted to take claim on the funds that the party had spent on campaigning for its candidates in GE14.
Isa recently left Umno to contest as an independent candidate in the Port Dickson by-election and is locked in a seven-cornered battle for the seat, with contenders, including PKR president-elect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. – The Sun