The BEAUTY of Malaysian politics

Nurul, Jenice and Hannah

Teo Nie Ching

Elizabeth Wong

Malaysian politics does not allow much space for imagination.

There are simply too many Ah Peks and Ah Mahs who talk in the political jargon of a bygone century, and doing things that were prevalent half a century ago.

By looking at them, you can be quite sure they won't offer a lot of surprises nor something we can look forward to.

Politics that lack some imagination is like watching a repeat old drama in midnight: sleep-inducing.

But I got a shot in the arm recently. I thought I saw some colours in Malaysian politics.

Nurul Izzah Anwar was voted PKR vice-president with the highest number of votes, while Jenice Lee and Hannah Yeoh were elected committee members of the Selangor DAP, at the top two positions.

These three young ladies are probably below 30 years of age today. If they were in aged parties like Umno or the MCA, given their age and in particular, their sex, they were at best placed in nurseries in the likes of "Puteri" for a further 10 or 20 years of gradual grooming.

That was the modus operandi of Malaysian politics during the times of kampung and new villages.

The old men might say, politics is a highly risky game unsuited for women. So they set up things like Wanita and much later the Puteri wings in the name of protecting the rights of women but in actual fact insulating women from broader political participation.

Fortunately, the PKR and DAP did not do the same to Nurul, Elizabeth Wong, Jenice, Hannah or Teo Nie Ching. ,They want these young women to come up and lead the game instead of throwing them into Wanita and getting them to start a few cooking classes.

These young lasses have never actually placed themselves within protective enclosures since the very beginning, but have gone all out to take on the battles as full political figures.

Nurul is the eldest daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, and no one can dismiss the fact that her background had great influence in her meteoric rise in politics. But she has her own aspirations, energy, image, and is very much concerned about major issues in the country. For a wide range of topics from press freedom to civil rights, she has on numerous occasions hit out directly at the prime minister himself.

She has not harnessed her advantages as Anwar's daughter or any special channels to win the party election. She also has not listened to everything her father has said, and is obviously on the opposite site from Azmin Ali. She later also distanced herself from Zaid Ibrahim to walk her own way.

Jenice and Hannah are widely regarded as the most diligent elected representatives who focus their efforts entirely on good governance and not on the trivial party infighting.

Malaysia's new age politics indeed needs rising stars like these people. No one wants old-man politics and no one can afford to keep living in the past.

Think about it, ten years down the road, people like Nurul, Jenice and Hannah may still be at their most energetic under-40, while Shahrizat and Ng Yen Yen will have turned frail septuagenarians by then.

Who wants aged aunties walking on crutches to still continue serving the nation?

Political rivalry is not a matter of wrenching near-term benefits but long-term goals.

[Source: mysinchew]