A victory for Umno/BN's Isa Samad in Bagan Pinang will set a dangerous future electoral trend where tainted characters could become elected representatives in the country, a political scientist said today.

sivamurugan pandian saiful bukhari sodomy allegations penang 020708 01 "If this happens, it would undermine the integrity and tarnish the image of Malaysian political governance in future," cautioned University Sains Malaysia academician Dr Sivamurugan Pandian.

Referring to Isa's suspension after he was found guilty of buying votes during the party polls in 2004, he chided Umno's decision to field a tainted character as its candidate for the by-election.

He said Umno's decision was mainly influenced by Isa's popularity, boosted by his good track record during his time as Negri Sembilan menteri besar.

But that does not mean that the voters should be forced to overlook Isa's tainted record pertaining to money politics, he added.

"A candidate's virtue and moral standing should very much form the political equation for consideration.

"A victory for such tainted characters could set a dangerous future electoral norm on choosing candidates.

isa samad bagan pinang 02 "Voters in future elections would then be forced to accept and elect tainted characters as their representative.

"This would contaminate the already murky and mired political water," he told Malaysiakini .

Isa is contesting the Bagan Pinang by-election in Negri Sembilan as the Barisan Nasional candidate. He will face off with Zulkefly Mohd Omar of PAS in a straight fight on Sunday.

The former Umno vice-president was suspended for six years, or two terms, but this was reduced to three years on appeal. He served out the suspension in June 2008.

A test for Umno and Pakatan

Sivamurugan said the semi-urban Bagan Pinang constituency was also a test of political strength for both BN and Pakatan Rakyat in southern Peninsular.

bagan pinang by election 061009 bn billboard 01 He said since Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor were generally considered as BN strongholds, Bagan Pinang would be an ideal indicator for the next general election.

For BN, he said it would be a challenge to prove that the coalition, especially Umno, was still a political force to reckon with.

Since the last general election, BN has suffered seven consecutive by-election defeats in Peninsular. It has won to retain the Batang Ai state seat in Sarawak.

azlan " Postal votes aside, BN must be able to muster the majority's ground support, especially among the 30 percent non-Malay voters who deserted the ruling coalition in the last general election," he said.

"BN will have to prove that it has not lost support in its own den," he said.

Sivamurugan said the 20.4 percent Indian voters in the constituency would be crucial and decisive in determining the winner, adding that Isa's popularity could also win more Indian votes than his opponent, especially among old guards.

The academician added the poll would also reveal whether Pakatan had finally made inroads into BN's southern strongholds.

"Even in defeat, if Pakatan can sustain or better its last general election support, it can look ahead optimistically to the future.

"It will be a major political breakthrough if Pakatan were to win the by-election," said Sivamurugan.