Career
He contested the federal seat of Arau in a by-election in 1998, but was defeated by Hashim Jasin of Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. His candidacy in 1998 was marred by accusations of cronyism arising from his brother"s position as Menteri Besar of Perlis. Selecting the brother of the state"s Chief Minister as UMNO"s candidate did little to neutralise the allegations. Ismail"s defeat was the first time that UMNO had lost a parliamentary seat in Perlis to Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. His predecessor, Syed Razlan Syed Putra, had held the seat with a majority of 3,243.