Just days after bagging the Bagan Pinang state seat, Isa Samad was given a hero's welcome when he attended the Umno annual general assembly.

Everywhere he went, he was mobbed by party members still celebrating his return after a four-year hiatus since having his party membership suspended for vote-buying during party elections.

isa samad interview 150509 "Supporters are very happy because everyone had high hopes of winning in Bagan Pinang.

"Everyone worked very hard and when we won, it made everyone happy," Isa told Malaysiakini at the sidelines of the assembly today.

On Sunday, Isa trounced PAS candidate Zulkefly Mohd Omar with a whopping 5,500 majority in a constituency of 13,600 voters.

The victory broke Pakatan Rakyat's by-election winning streak in the peninsula. The fledgling opposition coalition has won seven in a row since last August.

"Successfully defending the Bagan Pinang seat was meaningful, because we were the incumbent and we won after losing several times," said Isa, 59, who was the federal territories minister until his suspension.

Positions are not important

azlan The former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar said his priority now was to serve his new electorate and help Barisan Nasional wrest the Teluk Kemang parliamentary seat, currently held by PKR, in the next general election.

"Positions are not important to me because I've tried it all. I've been in the state cabinet and been the menteri besar," he said when asked about the possibility of him being absorbed into Menteri Besar Mohamad Hassan’s state cabinet.

Rumours were rife before the by-election that Isa's win would affect the power equilibrium in the state as he wields considerable influence after being menteri besar for two decades and is also the reigning Teluk Kemang Umno division chief.

Isa said positions in the state government were never a concern to him before the by-election because he was focused on ensuring that the party won the contest with a higher majority.

He described the win as a turning point for BN not only because of the higher majority obtained, but the coalition managed to snatch all eight voting districts, some of which were won by PAS in 2008.

1Malaysia concept helps

He attributes the better results to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s 1Malaysia concept which he believed helped win back votes from the non-Malays.

isa samad interview 150509 "Secondly, I am a local leader for 30 over years. I have a lot of relatives and friends there," he added.

Isa said the opposition on the other hand did not offer Bagan Pinang voters anything new, but recycled national issues such as corruption and allegations that BN was cruel.

"Sometimes, the issues brought by them are not realistic. One of their billboard said they would upgrade the Pasir Panjang - Teluk Kemang road. For those in the know, they would laugh at this," he said.