Malaysian Digest caught up with PKR Wanita chief and Ampang member of parliament Zuraida Kamaruddin recenrtly to find out more about her constituency and whether she will be defending her parliamentary seat in the 13th General Election.

Malaysian Digest: Will you be defending the Ampang parliament seat in the next General Election?

Zuraida Kamaruddin: I cannot say whether I will contest or not in the next election yet because it is up to the central leadership to decide. However, work is ongoing in Ampang such as strengthening the party machinery and meeting with Ampang residents. This is all done on an ongoing basis since 2008. Ampang residents also already know me and can communicate very well with me. Besides that, preparations have been made and the response we’ve received from Ampang people so far have been good which is a good sign for us. So whoever will represent Pakatan Rakyat in Ampang insya’allah will be able to win.

MD: During the last general election you won with more than a 3,000 majority. So what is your strategy to increase the winning margin if you were to contest again in Ampang?

ZK: In 2008 we contested as an underdog. Although I was already the PKR Woman Chief, people still didn’t know me. So I used unconventional strategy.  For example, I stood at traffic lights in the morning. That way people can recognize me very quickly. So for the next election I will continue with this approach. Besides that, Ampang voters can evaluate my performance in these three years whether to continue to support me or not.
 
Besides that, I always make sure that it is easy for people to get along with me. For example, if I have free time, I will join the people of Ampang while they’re having breakfast in a relaxed environment. This way people will no longer feel that there is a boundary between them and their elected representative.

 
Do you feel that the people in your constituency have accepted you?

Alhamdulillah, the Chinese community (in Ampang) has accepted me. I also can speak their language a bit so they feel very impressed that I can speak their language. Same goes with the Indian community. I engage with people frequently. But I have to admit that it is difficult to win the heart of the Malay community. Maybe they are still holding to the belief that only Umno and Barisan Nasional can defend them. However, we are working hard to try to win their support.

 
Are you optimistic about retaining the Ampang seat?

With the work undertaken so far, Insya’allah. I am optimistic.
 

What are your plans for Ampang?

So far we have always been engaging the people with programs while strengthening the party machinery. This is because before 2008 we do not have the proper machinery. At that time, the mood of the people was to make a change by voting for us. So when you win, your machinery needs to be further strengthened. We cannot just take the win for granted. So my team in Ampang is always giving focus to the voters.

 
What’s your comment on Umno/BN giving a lot of focus on recapturing Selangor?

It is clear that the Prime Minister had said that Umno-BN will do anything to regain Selangor. We know that Selangor is the richest state in Malaysia. Umno-BN knows if they fail to get Selangor back they will not survive. But I am optimistic. Based on the state government’s performance under Pakatan Rakyat, people will continue to give mandate for Pakatan to govern Selangor.
 

How do you see the role of women in Malaysian politics?

The role of women is important because nearly half the voters in Malaysia are women. In my opinion, a more aggressive method should be created to fight for the rights of women in this country. If the women do not progress the country's development will be crippled. Women are nation-builders who give birth to future generations. So if the quality of women is not improved then future generations will be a generation that lacks quality. Therefore, there should be an effort to improve the quality of women so that they would become great mothers who gives birth to a great generation. It should be noted that women made a lot of contribution to the country.

 
We often hear Umno-BN holding Pakatan responsible for issues that have emerged. In Selangor, for example, Umno-BN have been using the same strategy of putting all the blames on Pakatan. Can you comment on this?

I think this action is unwise. This is because, when you compare Pakatan’s three years of the administration to BN’s 50-year administration, to put the blame on us is something very absurd and ridiculous. It only shows that they are lacking in new ideas to prove that they have reformed their party for the people to accept them back. So when they say “why Pakatan did not do this or that?” we are also asking them the same question.

So I am disappointed with the caliber of these leaders who cannot seem to think of a different approach that could persuade people to give them another chance. To me, this tactic is superficial and will backfire on them.


What is your hope as a female leader from an opposition party?

As a community leader, my goal in joining politics is to safeguard the welfare of the people. And on that basis, I put a hope that every leader should consider the welfare of the people. We have to push the old politics where leaders misuse their positions to for their own benefit. If each leader focuses on the welfare of the people, I believe that the society’s perception that politics is dirty will change. This way the public will no longer see anyone involved in politics as dirty. I hope that perception will be changed.

- mD