Two weeks ago, not many Malaysians would have heard of the name Ahmad Ismail. A few informed Penangites might remember him as someone who stood to benefit financially if the Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr) ever was built (he was the main contractor of that project) but for the vast majority of Malaysians, he was a nobody. That is no longer the case.

An Umno division chief who is not even a municipal councillor (Dr Koh Tsu Koon did not approve of his reappointment) has single-handedly managed to bring the Penang Barisan Nasional coalition to its knees and could be responsible for the start of a wider BN disintegration.