GE15: Women underdog candidates determined to put up fierce fight

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being the underdogs, female candidates for the Ampang and Setiawangsa parliamentary seats here, are confident that they have the advantage over the big names who are their rivals in the 15th general election (GE-15).

Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Ampang parliamentary seat, Ivone Low Yi Wen said as a native of the area, she understands the needs and problems faced by the people and on that basis, her aim was to bring about several changes if given the mandate.

Among them are to redevelop the constituency area as a tourist attraction, solve the flash floods problem, empower women and young people through home entrepreneurship programmes to improve their economic status and establish a maintenance service squad to ease flat dwellers.

Drawing on her experience as Legal Advisory and Women's Aid Centre (LAWA) advisor, Low has pledged to provide tuition for B40 students and free legal services to B40 families in need and women facing domestic violence.

"I consider myself as a clean sheet and am willing to work hard because I am still young. The ability to speak Malay, English and Chinese allows me to interact easily with people of all races," said the MCA Beliawanis (Young Women Bureau) chief.

In GE15 this Nov 19, Low will be facing incumbent Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin who is contesting on a Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) ticket, Rodziah Ismail of Pakatan Harapan (PH), Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif Perikatan Nasional (PN), Nurul Ashikin Mabahwi of Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA-Pejuang), Lai Wai Chong (Warisan) and three independent candidates Muhammad Shafiq Izwan Mohd Yunos, Tan Hua Meng and M Raveendran.

Meanwhile, GTA candidate Bibi Sunita Sakandar Khan, who is contesting under Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) logo for the Setiawangsa parliamentary seat, is already familiar with residents in the constituency as they have been airing their woes to her for the past 22 years through her involvement as a community activist in the area.

"I have been helping the needy group such as the B40 women and single mothers in several ways since I joined Persatuan Gerak Wanita Islam Malaysia (Gerakwanis) which means, I have been working hard not just because I am running as a GE candidate," she said.

The Federal Territories GTA Women's Wing chief, who will be in a six-cornered tussle together with the incumbent Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, is also determined to multiply her services to the residents if elected, in line with her 'Updiri Setiawangsa' mission which among others was to focus on solving local housing problems.

Earlier, a check by Bernama saw that that despite being the underdogs, Low and Bibi Sunita were seen to be at ease and confident when meeting the people on their campaign rounds and were also well-received by the local residents.

While these two women candidates are trying to prove that being the underdogs would not be an obstacle in gaining voter support, the PN candidate for Wangsa Maju parliamentary, Nuridah Mohd Salleh who came down to the field as a political 'otai' or veteran, said she must not rest on her laurels as other candidates have their specialties and strong chance of winning.

"What makes PN different is our (PN) vision for the people, including efforts to increase the number of women participating in the political arena.

"There is no harm in women's participation in politics because they are aware of the problems of the community and women are known to be able to work hard," said Nuridah who had contested for Rompin parliamentary seat in GE13, Sungai Buloh parliamentary (GE14) and Tahan state seat in GE12 but was defeated in all the contests.

In the contest for the Wangsa parliamentary seat, Nuridah will be facing five other candidates namely Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Shafei Abdullah (BN), Wee Choo Keong (Warisan), Norzaila Arifin (Pejuang), Raveentheran Suntheralingam (Independent), Zahir Hassan (PH) to replace the incumbent Datin Dr Tan Yee Kew.

Meanwhile, school bus operator Iswadi Muhamad, 43, said it does not matter if the candidates contesting the Wangsa Maju seat are women, as long as they have improvement plans for the education sector and infrastructure development to improve the well-being of the population.

"Short-term assistance on basic needs is indeed necessary, but long-term plans such as improving the drainage system to avoid flash floods and maintenance of school buildings are more important," he said.

-- BERNAMA